From The Ashes
by Black-Trooper
Summary: A reluctant nihilistic God Eater embarks on a quest to uncover the secrets of an experiment. Will the discovery lead to a ray of hope that will spare humanity from extinction? Or will it all have been for nothing like she expected? (Set 18 years after the events of Rage Burst)
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** Greetings to all readers. I like to mention a couple of things before you jump right into the story.

This story is based on the concept of God Eater 3. Its theme will be darker and edgier than what the previous games have shown. The contents will involve: strong violence, mild language, partial nudity and suggestive themes. As for updates, I'll write whenever I can in my spare time and only post the new chapter when I feel it is ready.

In the meantime, please enjoy the story. Reviews will be most welcome and appreciated.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own the God Eater series. Everything except my original characters and elements is rightfully the property of Bandai Namco Entertainment. There is no financial gain to be made from this, nor will any be sought. This is purely for entertainment purpose only.

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

The young woman groaned as she stirred awake from her slumber. The stinging sensation from the back of her head had her clenching her teeth. She reached a hand over in order to rub and soothe the ache. However, the pair of large red metallic bangles that bind her wrists together has made it awkward and difficult for her. She gave up, lowering her arms back down. Her eyes felt heavy when she opened them at last.

The first thing she noticed before anything else, were the dozens of dead bodies littered across the deck. Most of the victims were killed brutally, as though a pack of wild animals had ripped them apart. The luckier ones were simply crushed under the debris, which was thankfully all over in an instant and the least painful way to go. The worst ones were the bodies burned beyond all recognition with their sickly sweet aroma of charred flesh still hanging in the air; the putrid odor had the bile in her stomach rising, and she averted her eyes elsewhere. It wasn't the kind of sight she'd like to wake up to.

As far as she could tell, she was the only survivor left on the deck.

Her plan of searching for possible survivors around the airship was abandoned as quickly as it had arrived when she felt the shake. She screamed as she tumbled down the deck, hitting into crates and dead bodies along the way. Instinctively, her hands reached out and grabbed onto the railings, which stopped her from slipping any further.

She shot a quick glance over her shoulder, and her mouth agape. The mere sight of the bottomless chasm beyond the deck was all she needed to realize the grave danger she was in. A question was being raised in her mind, as she wondered how the airship ended up dangling itself on the edge of a cliff.

As the momentum of the drag resumed, she started climbing back up like a woman possessed, focusing her sight at the other end of the deck where the cloudy sky lies ahead. By the skin of her teeth, she jumped out in time before the abyss could take her along with the ship and everything in it. The faint crashing sound was heard shortly after she landed on the dirt ground.

For a few more moments, she continued lying flat on her back, taking in several quick short breaths. She got back on her feet after she rested enough. Then, she walked off with nary a second glance at the chasm that has become the grave of the countless poor souls aboard the airship.

Unfortunately for the young woman, her luck didn't appear to fare much better wandering in the barren wasteland for a while.

No other signs of life had existed apart from hers. Occasionally, she would come across pieces of wreckage that seemingly belong to the airship, as well as dead passengers who probably fallen off in mid-air. None of her rummaging through their belongings has turned up with anything worth looting in her mind.

Sweats trickled down from her forehead, which reached down and soaked into her vest. Gasping-like breaths escaped from her lips. Her constant wobbling almost caused her to lose her footing. Her eyes struggled to stay open under heavy lids.

Before she knew it, her strength had betrayed her. First, her legs have given in, forcing her down on both knees. Then, she slumped forward, planting her cheek against the dirt ground with a soft landing.

 _'Guess this is it...'_ she thought, as she seems resigned to accept her fate.

With no other survivors to be found within her sight, and the prospect of rescue team looking unlikely to be coming anytime soon. It appears she had run out of luck.

Or so she thought...

"Just hang on." A disoriented voice said to her.

She could sense her body lifted back on her feet before she was dragged along. When her crimson eyes opened, at last, she saw the individual crouching right in front of her. He took the form of a young man sporting unruly chestnut brown hair and olive green eyes. The sleeve of his maroon leather jacket bears the symbol of a shield with human face, Aegis League – humanity's resistance force. Judging from his tactical clothing and the pistol resting inside his thigh holster, he appeared to be a soldier.

The soldier removed one of his gloves and reached out his hand. Having felt the heat from her forehead and figured out what her problem was, he wasted no time unscrewing the cap of his canteen and tilting the bottle over her head, dousing cool water into her sky blue hair. Gently, he grabbed her by the chin, raising her head slightly to feed her the drink.

She found her strength returning when she felt the refreshing taste of water down her throat. Rejuvenated, her hands reached up to grab the canteen, and her head leaned back even further as she swallowed mouthfuls of water. After one more swig to hit the spot, the bottle was withdrawn back to its rightful owner.

"Thanks," she said, finding her voice again, "I owe you one."

"It's nothing." The soldier humbly replied, waving away his hand.

He was alarmed when the faint sounds of growling were heard in the distance, "We should probably get a move on. This isn't exactly a safe place to hunker down."

A further walk down the road led them into a ruined town, whose name had long been forgotten ever since the calamity happened decades ago. Only the sounds of their footsteps and the dusty wind echoed the street. There were no traces of human inhabitants still living, which hardly surprised either of the two as many other places in this world were in the same sorry state.

"What's your name?"

The sudden question that broke the silence had the young woman shooting a glance over her shoulder.

"Eva," she replied.

"Eva huh? That's a nice name," he complimented, "So Eva, did anybody else made it out?"

For the Aegis personnel, it was common knowledge from the get-go she was aboard the same airship that had claimed the lives of other passengers and spared hers. She shook her head, knowing she was about to reveal the grim truth, "They were all dead by the time I woke up."

The soldier shook his head in disbelief when he learned the fate that befell the rest of the airship passengers, "Dammit..."

"Sorry, didn't mean to be the bearer of bad news." she offered her condolences, thinking there was a good chance the man knew some of these people.

"Unless you're actually responsible for their deaths, don't be sorry. If anyone is to be blamed for all this, it's those damn monsters." His voice dripped with a hint of anger when he referred to the Aragami - the malevolent beasts that became the bane of humanity's existence for almost half a century.

Eva was thankful for a break inside the rundown bar, as the scorching heat outside became almost unbearable for her to tolerate; she reckoned she must have sweated a bucket. The two of them seated themselves over at one of the center tables, where they took the moment to catch their breaths. As they did, her stomach growled.

Knowing the prisoner was hungry; the soldier reached a gloved hand inside his coat's pocket and took out a square shaped package covered in tin foil. Opening up the package, the content was revealed to be a plain white sandwich stuffed with ham, cheese, lettuce, and tomatoes. If he had to be honest, it wasn't much of a meal but he reckoned it was better than having nothing.

"Here, you can have this," he said, sliding the sandwich over to her.

Blinking her eyes a few times, Eva seemed surprised by the soldier's gesture. It wasn't every day she met an Aegis soldier demonstrating such generosity to the likes of her. The young woman didn't need to think twice to pick up and wolf down on the sandwich; she highly doubted he would have gone through the trouble to poison her when he could have very easily fed her a blazing lead.

"So, what now?" she asked, after chewing her bite, "I assume wandering around the wasteland wasn't the plan…"

The soldier took out a pack of cigarettes, where he put one in his mouth before he answered, "There's an old Fenrir satellite base. It's roughly three clicks to the southeast. My unit and any other survivors were to rendezvous there for extraction. That's where we'll be going."

"I see."

With his cigarette lit up, he took a drag, blowing grey smoke into the air, "Personally, I don't really have anything against you God Eaters."

"Is that so?" she asked, before taking another bite.

"I mean, my parents were God Eaters," he replied, flicking ash into the tray, "They were pretty well respected back in their home branch. I remembered kids used to admire God Eaters back then, and they wanna be just like them when they grow older..."

A quick look at the man's face and she could see his lips curled into a small smile for only a brief moment as he reminisced about his parents.

"Anyways," he continued, "My point being is, I don't think you're all bad."

"Funny, the other soldiers I've met don't appear to share the same sentiment as you do," she said, "Apparently, we're nothing more than freaks in their eyes..."

"Well, it can't be help. After all, you and the remaining God Eaters that are left in this world... are different from the previous generations. You know what I'm talking about, right?"

The silence response from Eva confirmed her answer.

"I tell you what. God Eater or not. You and me... won't have any problems, so long as you're fighting the true enemy out there. Do we have a deal?"

Whether or not the soldier had truly meant what he said throughout their conversation, she wasn't certain. But nonetheless, she was willing to give him the benefit of doubt for now. Finishing up the sandwich, she nodded a few times.

"Good, by the way, my name is-"

Before the soldier could properly introduce himself, the sudden footsteps into the bar had alarmed him. His green eyes narrowed when he turned his head and faced the newest presences standing over by the entrance: four men, all dressed in raggedy clothes. Normally, he would have welcomed the rare sight of seeing more survivors, if it weren't for the grin on their faces that rubbed him wrong.

"Well, well, look what we have here, lads." said the man in the center, presumably the leader of the group.

The soldier stood up from his seat, and likewise, Eva followed suit. Cautiously, he kept his gun within hand's reach in case any of the men tried to make a sudden move.

"Is there something I can do for you guys?" he asked, while his eyes darted left and right, as he tried keeping all four strangers within his periphery.

"Sure, kid," The leader replied, rubbing his chin for a moment before he bared his yellowish teeth, "Just give us all your stuff, and that cutie pie over there," His finger pointed briefly at Eva, "And we'll let you go. Promise."

Her crimson eyes glared at the pair of men in the corner, who had looked at her as though they were undressing her with their eyes. If a couple of red flags weren't enough, another one was raised in her mind when a quick study on all of the four raiders made her noticed the shakes on their hands. She concluded their leader was lying in regards to sparing the soldier's life if he was gullible enough to accept his deal.

"That's not going to happen," The soldier finally answered, as he refused to be intimidated, "I highly recommend you and your buddies here to back off. And let us be on our way. Or else there's going to be a severe consequence for all of you..."

The gang responded by laughing at what they perceived to be the soldier's foolish attempt to persuade their minds. Upon their leader's signal, they began circling around Eva and the soldier with the intention of cutting off their escape routes.

Agitated, the soldier reached down to grip the handle of his pistol, "This is your final warning. Back off!"

With a sigh escaping from her lips, Eva had already known there was never a chance for diplomacy to succeed in the first place, at least not with these men, "Forget it... They already made up their minds the minute they got here..."

The soldier knew she was right the moment he caught one of the raiders making a sly attempt to raise his crossbow, hoping to shoot him when he wasn't paying attention. He beat the man to the punch, as his gloved hand swiftly drew his handgun from the holster. Two blazing leads embedded their way into the man's chest, and the man lets out a blood-curdling scream as he fell on the floor.

As he pivoted around to choose his next target, he found himself lifted off his feet and the back of his spine rammed onto the edge of the bar counter. His gun fallen out of his hand during the struggle. Gritting his teeth, he opened his eyes, where he saw the raider boss's face mere inches away from his. He had no time to react when he felt the hands gripped around his neck, forcing the back of his head down on the wooden surface. In the meantime, the other two raiders went after Eva, as she led them in a cat and mouse chase around the bar.

At first, it seemed he was unable to break out of the man's grasp. Then, his eyes widened when he remembered something that could free him out of his current predicament. He fumbled around his pockets until he finally found what he was looking for: a folding knife. Soon enough, his assailant released him, not before yelling out in pain and rolling dramatically over the floor, while his hands covered the fresh wound to his stomach.

Panting, the soldier took a quick survey around the bar, wondering how Eva was doing with the other two men. His jaws dropped slightly when he saw the prisoner had already taken care of her problem; one of the assailants laid face down on the floor with a pool of crimson forming underneath him, while the other one was left on top of the table with a knife buried in his chest. He was about to smile until she turned around and raised his very own gun back at him.

The thought of Eva's seemingly betrayal had made him want to curse his stupidity for having trusted the wrong God Eater. However, when the shot actually came, the discharging round flew past his head rather than hitting him dead on. He heard the sound of a groan before the body fell heavily on the floor. When he turned around, he couldn't mistake the same marauder who had tried aiming his crossbow at him earlier on. As it turns out, the man wasn't yet dead, and the prisoner had finished the job for him.

Once she approached the soldier, Eva flipped the pistol over. The soldier nodded, as he accepted the return of his gun. Soon enough, the two of them realized they weren't out of the woods yet when they heard shouting coming from outside, figuring there were even more of these raiders presented in town.

"We need to get out of here." The soldier said as he led the way towards the rear exit.

Unfortunately, as he opened the back door and stepped outside, he was met with several of the raiders. Darkness took over his vision after one of the marauders struck the butt of his rifle against the back of his skull.

He could still feel his head ringing when he finally came to. Although the ache bothered him greatly, he was more concerned when he looked up at the presence that stood over him. To his dismay, the gang leader was still alive despite the stab wound he inflicted to his stomach; he didn't expect to see his ugly mutt face again, grinning at him with his sickening yellowish teeth that haven't been brushed for god knows how long.

However, the sight of Eva who had also been captured made his jaw tensed, where a burly marauder gripped his dirty hand on her chin, while the barrel of his revolver pressed against her temple. Out of the two of them, he'd hoped she could escape, knowing full well what these men had in store for her.

"Let go of her!" he demanded, forcing himself to stand up.

As punishment for his resistance, one of the raiders from behind swung a baseball bat to the back of his leg. The resulting strike left him falling on the ground in a crumbled heaps. Though the pain was agonizing, he managed to suppress his urge to cry out loud, refusing to give them the satisfaction of showing his weakness.

"Here's how this will go down, soldier boy," The raider leader began, as he crouched beside his intended prey, "First, we're gonna chop a piece out of you here and there. And you're gonna watch us eat them. Then... We're gonna have our fun with that cutie pie until me and my boys are completely satisfied. And finally, I will personally kill you myself. How does that sound?"

The soldier answered with only silence. As a result, he was punished once more when the baseball bat hit him yet again. Again and again, he felt the metal club connecting against his back and sides. Blood coughed out of his mouth, filling his mouth with a bitter metallic taste.

Then, the raider leader stepped back into his sight, "How about this? Since I'm feeling a bit generous today, I'll make this quick and painless for you if you start begging me," he offered, "All you've got to do is listen. What say you, soldier boy?"

The soldier took a moment to spit out his blood. Then, he lifted his head back up. If looks could kill, the gang leader would have already been dead, as the glare from his green eyes has shown nothing but contempt towards the marauder. He knew the man was a compulsive lying scumbag, who takes pleasure toying around with his victims with false promises. And he wasn't about to shred his dignity by giving him exactly what he wanted.

"My name isn't soldier boy... It's Corporal Ren Amamiya. 1st Platoon, Alpha Company. And you can go fuck yourself!"

No longer did the raider leader continued to grin at Ren. Instead, his lips were curved into a smile, and he nodded his head a few times to acknowledge the soldier. He couldn't help but respect the Corporal's acts of defiance when many of his past victims would have already begged for their lives. On his cue, another one of his fellow marauder, who wielded a machete, had stepped forward.

Despite her best efforts, Eva couldn't break herself free from the burly marauder who held her back. It's times like this she wishes her cursed shackles were taken off. Then for a moment, she stopped her struggling.

At first, the raider seemed pleased, thinking she had given up completely. However, after taking a deep breath, she lets out the loudest shout she could possibly draw from her lungs; her roar echoed throughout the town. She didn't stop until after she felt the palm of a hand across her lips and her back hitting the dirt ground. Her red eyes trailed back up to the gang leader responsible for the blood trickling down from her lips.

Just as the raider was about to bring his crude blade down on Ren's arm, an ear-piercing shriek stopped him in his tracks. His face paled when he looked up at the figure that shadowed over him from the roof. Likewise, the rest of the gang mirrored the same horrified expression.

Bearing razor sharp fangs and long armored tail with an end resembling a demon face, the bipedal creature stared down at the human with its golden eyes. To the Aegis personnel and those formerly affiliated to Fenrir, the beast was widely known as the Orgretail - the most populous and arguably the most infamous of the Aragami breeds that terrorized the human race for so long.

The Orgretail wasn't alone. At least six more of its fellow kind revealed their presences, as they had their preys surrounded on all sides. After singing a chorus of growls, the pack attacked all at once. Panic ensues, as reports of gunshots crackled the air, followed by the agonizing human screams.

"Come on. Let's go!" Eva shouted, as she grabbed and shoved Ren forward, seizing their golden opportunity to try escape from the carnage.

Each footstep became heavier and heavier. Her breathing became deafening inside her head to the point where it almost drowns out the other sounds around her. A quick glance over to her right, and she saw Ren down on his knees. It was no surprise when she saw the Corporal in worse shape than her, having considered the beatings the raider scums had given him earlier on.

Grabbing Ren by the arm, Eva managed to heave the soldier back on his feet.

"Just go on without me," Ren said, shaking his head, "I'll only slow you down…"

At the rate they were going, he had no doubt in his mind the relentless beasts would have eventually caught up with them. It was only logical for him to believe he should be the one to stay behind, while the prisoner still has her remaining strength to escape without having to worry about the extra baggage.

"I still owe you a debt, remember?" Despite the soldier's insistence, the prisoner refused to release her grip on his arm, "We can call it even once I get you back to your unit."

The Corporal chuckled, "You really are a stubborn one, aren't you?"

"Not sure if I should take that as an insult or compliment, but whatever. Let's go."

With everything they had, the two pressed on through the barren wasteland with the scorching sun bathing them. Soon enough, their determination has paid off when the appearance of tall walls came into their view: the satellite base. There was no mistaken the iconic golden wolf head symbol of Fenrir above the gate; the exact same emblem the God Eater had on the back of her black cape, although hers had a crack down the middle.

"Almost… there." Eva said, breathlessly as she took another step.

However, adrenaline can only push her so far before her knees buckled under her. Likewise, Ren had also collapsed beside her with his face lying on the ground. The faint growling sound from before had grown louder and louder with each passing moments. Although she tried, she found herself unable to lift the semi-conscious soldier with what little strength she had left in her.

The pack of Ogretails had eventually caught up and had the pair surrounded. Saliva trickled down from their mouths, as they were eager to consume their preys. As the beasts were about to descend upon them, a fiery explosion had suddenly caught a few of their fellow kinds.

When she shot a glance to her right, her eyes widened at the sight of four giant, mechanical beings armed with massive guns almost as big as their colossal bodies overlooking the nearby hill. They were God Arc Soldiers aka DEMAS – Deus Ex Artificial Soldier, a Fenrir creation besides the God Eaters still able to combat the Aragami threat and now widely used by the soldiers of Aegis League.

"Get down!" A robotic male voice shouted.

She hit the deck like she was told to do so. For the next minute, she heard the bombardment and felt both the tremor under her and the intense heat wave tingling her skin. When it finally stopped, she lifted her head back up and saw the charred bodies of several Ogretails. Upon hearing the thundering footsteps, her crimson eyes fixed on the encroaching God Arc Soldiers.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

The first sight Ren had seen upon his awakening was a man sitting beside him. He appeared to be of similar age to him sporting raven hair and piercing blue eyes. Moreover, he also happened to be wearing the same uniform as him.

"Gareth?" he said, weakly as he tried lifting his back off the bed.

However, his face contorted with a grimace of pain when he felt the sharp sting at the back of his spine. He was thankful Gareth lend him a helping hand, as his fellow comrade gently placed him back down until his head rested on the pillow.

"Easy there, mate," Gareth said, "Just take some rest. You've been pushing yourself pretty hard out there. At least that's what the doc said."

Sighing, Ren decided not to push himself, as he lay rested on the bed. The Corporal had the good common sense to realize the risk of aggravating his injuries further simply wasn't worth the effort.

"Where's the Captain?" he asked.

Gareth did not answer his question, at least not immediately. The man kept quiet first as he lowered his head, a shadow covered his eyes. Finally, he pointed at the bed next to the Corporal. Ren followed his fellow comrade's finger and his eyes widened after making the outline of a body covered in a bloody white sheet.

"It all happened so fast," Gareth began explaining, lifting his head back up, "One minute, Captain Gerald was barking out orders, trying to get the platoon organized. Then next minute, the damn Aragami were all over her. We manage to get her out of her unit and brought back here but… It was already too late for her…"

"Dammit," Ren cursed aloud, "Wait… What about Sergeant Heidrich? Is he?"

Once he saw the head shake from Gareth, Ren had an incredulous look on his face, as he was barraged with more bad news. As a soldier, it should have come naturally for him to accept the brutality of his line of work, where it wasn't unusual for fellow comrades to die in battle. However, the death of his commanding officer and his sergeant wasn't a particularly easy pill for him to swallow.

"Its good to have you back, mate," Gareth said, his lips curved into a small smile, as he tried looking cheerful for a change, "At least that's one good news around here. We did manage to reach HQ. The transportation should hopefully come to us by tomorrow morning. Also with the Captain and Sergeant gone, it was agreed the chain of command falls to you now."

"They want me… in charge?

"It's only temporary until you are relieved. Anyways, don't worry too much about that right now. Just get some rest. I'll handle things out there in the meantime."

After a quick survey around the infirmary, a sudden thought came to Ren's mind.

"Where's Eva?" he asked, looking back at his fellow comrade.

"Eva?"

"The God Eater."

By the time he recovered and left the tent, the sky had already darkened with a full moon. The activity around the base was still bustling even at late night, as he saw soldiers and other personnel running up and down the base, lending a helping hand for their own wounded as well as the distraught refugees. He gave an acknowledging nod to each soldier he passes by.

Ren eventually spots Gareth over by the entrance leading inside the main building, where his fellow comrade was currently conversing with an orange-haired woman in a short-sleeve white dress and corset type vest; the uniform of an operator. As soon as he was spotted, his fellow comrade waved him over, and he obliged.

"We've got good news, Corporal Amamiya," Gareth said, "HQ has sent extra reinforcements ahead of time. They will help us hold down base until the main force arrives. Their ETA should be in an hour and forty minutes. Not only that, they wish to secure and transfer the prisoner ASAP."

"Good," Ren replied, nodding his head a few times, "I want to see her."

"You want to see that thing…" The furrowed brows and the negative tone from his fellow comrade had clearly suggested he wasn't exactly fond of him paying the God Eater a visit. "Honestly, I'm not sure why you still want anything to do with it… Sure, it may have saved you but…"

Gareth took the hint when Ren appeared unmoved by his opinion on Eva. A sigh escaped from his lips, as he resigned in defeat, "If that's what you want, then I won't stop you. Ms. Fujiki, would you please show Corporal Amamiya the way?"

"Will do, Private Lawson," The operator replied, nodding her head once.

Once his fellow comrade took his leave, Ren turned around with a beaming smile on his face, as his green eyes met with the operator's golden.

"Nozomi."

The orange-haired operator walked up and gave the Corporal a playful punch on the arm like she had always does ever since they were young, "I'm glad you made it in one piece, kiddo."

Upon following Nozomi's lead inside the main building, Ren couldn't help but noticed even more refugees crowded around the lounging area.

"Quite a lot of people we have here," he remarked.

"It's a lot more than we had anticipated," Nozomi said, "All things considered, the evacuation of Ebonhold was a success. Bar the one airship and four planes, the rest of the transports are still on course to reaching Zion."

"Success? I'm not sure if I could really call it that…" Ren said, lowering his head, "Not everyone got out of Ebonhold on time though. I reckon we must have left hundreds of people behind…"

Even now, the Corporal couldn't forget the harrowing cries he heard from the panicked civilians as the Aragami ravaged Ebonhold – one of the few human cities still left in this godforsaken world. His hand clenched into a fist when he recalled the chaotic memories that burned inside his mind.

' _Could have saved them all…'_

He snapped back to reality when he felt the gloved hand of Nozomi's briefly on his shoulder. With his head lifted back up, the orange haired operator stood in front of him, shaking her head in disagreement.

"Don't beat yourself up over it, kiddo," Her tone becoming assertive, "I know you did everything you could have done. Your Captain knows this, so does your Sergeant and the rest of your comrades in the 1st Platoon. So stop worrying about what you could have done before. Start thinking about what you can actually do from here on. Is that understood, soldier?"

As always, Nozomi who has been like an older sister to him was the one that helped to set him straight when he feels lost or unsure.

"Ma'am, yes, ma'am! Wow, I never pegged you for the drill instructor type. How did you get so tough?"

"I learned from the best," she answered, with a profound smile on her face as though she had remembered someone most dear to her.

After Nozumi sent him on his merry way with directions on how to reach Eva, Ren stepped into the elevator and made his way down the brig. It didn't take more than a few minutes to finally track her down in her own cell. The blue-haired woman was keeping herself occupied, as her nose was buried in a book. She'd carried on reading if it weren't for the knocking on the bar that interrupted her.

"What are you reading there?" Ren asked, grabbing himself a chair.

"A light novel," Eva replied, looking back at the book, "It's the only reading material the guard was willing to give me."

"What's it about?"

"About some young boy sucked into a fantasy world and how his fighting for his survival," she explained, as she turned another page.

"Oh, is it any good?"

A sigh escaped from her lips, "Not really. It's terrible…"

"In what ways?" he asked, intrigued to hear her critique of the novel she was reading.

"Let's see…" she began, scratching her head briefly, "We have ourselves here a bland protagonist that's as dull as dirt… Then you have the side characters that are completely useless and can't do anything without his help. Last, but not least, every girl he meets is vying for his affection, turning this whole thing into a ridiculous harem. Overall, this novel is just dreadful. It's nothing more than pure wish fulfillment for some horny teenage boy to project themselves…"

"Damn girl, that's pretty harsh," Ren said with a chuckle, "Since you find the novel so dreadful, why you carry on reading it?"

The question had Eva rolling her eyes, "Uhh. Because I'm stuck in this cell with nothing else better to do?"

"Good point."

"Anyways, my turn for the questioning. What are you doing down here, Corporal Amamiya?" she asked, tossing the book aside, "Don't suppose you came all this way just to hear me talk about a novel, did you?"

"I actually have important news for you," he began, leaning forward from his seat with his hands intertwined, "Since I'm in charge around here and you're in my custody, for the time being, I feel it's only fair that I give you the heads up. So, here it'll goes… A bunch of our guys from HQ will be coming over pretty soon. Once they arrived, you will be handed over to them."

"So, assuming my next ride doesn't end up crashing, what's going to happen to me?" she asked, folding her arms in front of her chest, "Do they plan on locking me away for another five years for what I did?"

Rubbing his chin for a moment, the Corporal was left pondering on the reasoning behind the God Eater's imprisonment for the last five years. He almost considered the idea of asking her directly but thought better of it since it wasn't any of his business to know.

"Honestly, I have no idea what you did in the past. Regardless, that's not up for me to decide," Ren replied, shrugging his shoulder, "The brass back at HQ will be the ones making the final decision whether you should remain incarcerated or reinstated."

"I see…"

"Anyway-" He was interrupted when Eva bolted up from the bed. Clearly, he saw something must have alarmed the God Eater as she stared intently up at the ceiling with a frown on her face.

"Is there something wrong?" The Corporal asked as he was left wondering what had set her off all of the sudden.

"They're here…."

Over the top of the perimeter walls, the manned God Arc Soldiers from all directions raised their guns in the air. In unison, red flares discharged out of the barrels, soaring far and high into the dark sky until the bright flame landed and scattered across the ground, revealing the mass presences of an Aragami horde encroaching towards the satellite base. It wasn't long before the deafening siren blared all around the base; a familiar ominous sound that sent the refugees panicking.

Upon hearing the incoming footsteps, Ren turned to his right, where he was met with Nozomi. The orange haired operator had sweats trickling down from her forehead, as she stopped in front of him and took a moment to catch her breath before she looked up and spoke.

"Ren! It's the-"

"Aragami…" he finished the sentence for her, as his green eyes narrowed, "Get every refugee inside the building now. And radio back to HQ at once. Tell them we need the reinforcement. My platoon will try to hold out until help arrives."

"On it! I'll meet you at the command center," said the operator, as she turned around and ran back the same way she came from.

"Corporal Amamiya."

Before he could take his leave and join his fellow comrades in battle, Ren stopped in his tracks when he heard Eva's voice calling out to her. The God Eater stood close to the door, leaning her forehead against the bars with her eyes shut. Then, she reopened her crimson eyes and raised her head.

"Release me."

"Release you?" he repeated after the prisoner, with incredulity on his face, "Why?"

"Because I'm the best fighting chance you'll have," she answered, as though it was a matter of fact, "That operator earlier told me my God Arc was here. Since you're in charge now, you must have your Captain's device, the one that can unlock my shackles, right? So let's do it. Get me out and I'll help you win."

Ren couldn't quite work out whether the God Eater was truly confident in her own abilities or she was being a plain arrogant fool who's in over her head. Either way, the Corporal shook his head, dismissing her suggestion. Releasing a God Eater to fight against the Aragami was only meant to be the last resort, which is common knowledge among the human survivors, and he wasn't about to take a gamble with this blue haired woman whom he barely knew.

"As much as I appreciate your offer, my unit can handle this," he replied.

"No, they can't. Don't be a bloody fool," she retorted, "If your fellow comrades and those ancient heap of junks they're piloting were anywhere capable of handling the Aragami, then your precious city wouldn't have fallen in the first place…"

His forehead creased when it sounded as though the God Eater was placing the blame on his fellow comrades for the fall of Ebonhold.

"You know what? I'll pretend I didn't hear all that," he said before he turned around and began his sprint towards the elevator, all whilst ignoring the prisoner's cursing at him.

While the lift ascends to the command center, he could make out the sounds of a battle raging outside the building. Once the lift stopped, its volume grew deafening to his ears as soon as the doors slide opened to reveal the war room. He saw Nozomi and a few other operators seated down at their respective terminals, communicating over their headsets. There were multiple large screens mounted on the wall with live feedbacks showing the battle in several different angles. From what he could see, his platoon on the walls fought valiantly to hold their lines, preventing any Aragami from breaking through.

At once, the Corporal approached the terminals, where Nozomi upon noticing his presence, passed a spare headset over to him.

"Lawson, how are you guys holding up?" he asked over the radio, whilst staring into the monitor.

Gareth took a deep breath, as he zero in the target he could see in his cockpit's monitor: a Kongou, an ape-like Aragami that was seen clawing at the wall below. With a press of his thumb against the trigger button, his God Arc Soldier fired at his command, unleashing barrage after barrage of blazing rounds that rain down upon the beast. When the burst of fire ended and the smoke cleared away, the Kongou slumped face down to the ground.

"No casualties so far. We've managed to keep them at bay," he finally replied, ducking his unit down for cover, "However, our oracle supplies are running low as it is. We will eventually have to switch over to melee combat."

"When's that reinforcement coming?" Ren asked, shooting a glance over to Nozomi.

"They're coming here as fast as they possibly can," Nozomi replied, "ETA's one hour and twenty minutes."

Without delaying any further, the Corporal went straight back to tapping on his headset, "Gareth. Reinforcement is on the way in one hour and twenty minutes. Until they arrive, you need to hold out as best as you can. Try to make every shot count. If they manage to break through, start forming a shield wall and push them back."

"Understood."

"Good luck mate."

For the next thirty minutes, Ren watched the on-going battle with bated breath. By now, the Aragami horde has already made a breach through the various sections of the walls, and their numbers poured inside the compound by the hundreds. Waves after waves of beasts clashed against the shields of the Aegis soldiers, trying to bite or claw their way at both the machine and the pilot inside the cockpits. Despite the odds, the remaining 1st Platoon held their formation, as they shoved and stabbed any Aragami that got close to their phalanx of fellow comrades.

He hoped and prayed the strength and perseverance of his fellow comrades will prevail. However, as the battle continued to drag on, it was clearly evident they were losing the fight by attrition. One of his fellow comrades would find themselves overwhelmed and killed for every several dozens of Aragami they've managed to bring down. His teeth clenched and his fist banged against the desk when he heard their agonizing screams over the chatter. A quick glance at his wristwatch, and he saw the timer on the digital screen counting down to fifty minutes. However, at the rate the battle was going, he reckoned there wouldn't even be anyone left for the reinforcement to save in time.

When he looked over to Nozomi and her fellow operators, he saw them mirroring the same distressed expression, as they stared into the monitor with their eyes widened as much as they possibly could and the corners of their mouth curved down. Their hearts sank when there was nothing they could do but watched helplessly, as the soldiers of the 1st Platoon were dying on the screen.

It seemed all hope was lost. However, recognition dawned on Ren's face. He turned around and approached the large wooden table at the center of the room.

Nozomi followed her eyes to where Ren was, curious to know what he was doing. Then, her head jerked back slightly, as she recognized the black remote the Corporal was holding in his hand. It was a device given out to the Aegis officers for the purpose of unlocking the God Eaters' shackles.

"Ren… You're not planning to-"

"I'm gonna release that God Eater," Ren answered the question the operator already had in mind, "She'll help us push back the Aragami."

From inside his cockpit, Gareth shook his head in disbelief, having heard exactly what Ren said over the chatter as the Corporal deliberately left his channel open for him to know about his plan.

"Corporal Amamiya. With all due respect, that's a really bad idea," he said, "The moment you release that thing, it will turn on us!"

"Even I think it's a bad one, kiddo," Nozomi said, sharing the same sentiment as Private Lawson, "There's also something you should know about that prisoner…"

The operator swiped her finger across the screen of her tablet before she slides the portable computer over to Ren. As soon as the Corporal picked up the tablet and had a gaze on the screen, his eyes narrowed. It was a profile of Eva with her mug shot and her details.

The first section he skimmed over contained basic information such as her code name was Eva; her birthday was August 20th, 2068, her nationality was British and she was formerly serving the Fenrir Intelligence Center. Strangely enough, her real name was left unknown. The second section of the page, however, made his eyebrows raised, as it revealed details of her criminal conviction. His green eyes fixed on a particular line:

"She's guilty of murdering her commanding officer," he spoke aloud.

It gave Ren a pause when he learned the reason behind Eva's imprisonment for the last five years. He was never under the impression the blue-haired woman was a backstabbing murderer, who willingly killed her own superior, especially not after considering the fact she went out of her own way to save his life, even if she insisted she was only returning the favor.

"If there's a good reason why you shouldn't let that thing go, that's the one right there," Gareth insisted.

"Furthermore, she's been incarcerated for the last five years," Nozomi pointed out, as she took back her tablet, "meaning she won't be in the best of condition to fight. Putting her back into a battle like this is too risky."

In all honestly, Ren had to admit both Gareth and Nozomi made good points he couldn't exactly ignore. His intended plan to release the God Eater was starting to sound pretty reckless and foolhardy, even if they were in desperate needs of help. The sane side of his mind was telling him repeatedly not to go through with it.

' _You'll regret this decision.'_ It told him.

However, when the Corporal stared back at the monitor and saw his remaining comrades struggling to contain the Aragami horde. And moreover, when he remembered the refugees that were relying on him and his platoon to protect them, he knew which decision he'll regret the most.

"It's my call," he said, "I'll take responsibility for this."

It took only six minutes for the two soldiers and engineers he summoned to bring Eva and a metallic box respectively up to the rooftop of the building. After a short walk, the two engineers settled down the large red container bearing the Aegis League. One of the soldiers passed a headset over to the blue haired woman before he and his fellow soldier along with the engineers turned around and took their leave.

"Can you hear me?" Ren asked as he watched the God Eater from the monitor.

"Loud and clear," Eva answered, bringing the microphone to her mouth.

"Good. Your God Arc is in that container. We're releasing it now…"

A second later, the hydraulics within the container made a hissing sound, as they began their work to slide the lid fully opened. Once the steam cleared away, her God Arc was revealed in all its glory: a hybrid weapon of complex design that included a crude looking black sword with matching round shield and a cylindrical cluster of several barrels. It had a distinctive red glow that appeared on of all three equipment.

"Aren't you a sight for sore eyes," she remarked to herself while smiling.

It was the first time in five years she had seen her own God Arc.

"Now, there's something I need you to understand before we go anywhere further."

"What's that?" Eva asked, her hand touching the ridge of the blade.

"I meant what I said back at the bar. So long as you're fighting the true enemy, you and I won't have any problems. However… I also forgot to mention that… If you betray my trust, there will be severe consequence waiting for you. Is that understood?"

The God Eater was no fool. She understood well enough the warning, which Corporal Amamiya had given out to her. After all, the device he was holding in his hand wasn't just her means of freedom. It also meant her death if the man desires it. All it took was an input code and a few presses of a button to activate the surgically implanted explosive device close to her heart, which every God Eaters of her generation has to deter them from any rebellious notions.

"Perfectly," she replied.

After learning the codes from Nozomi, Ren proceeded to type in the five digits on the remote. His shaking thumb hovered over to the green button. He closed his eyes for a moment, taking in a deep breath to calm the nerves coursing throughout his body.

' _I'm about to open Pandora's box.'_

Another one more breath, he opened his eyes and his mouth to speak, "Then here's your mission, God Eater. Assist the 1st Platoon to push back the Aragami. More importantly, protect the refugees residing inside the base. Reinforcement is coming soon. Hold out until then."

"Roger."

"Releasing shackles now!"

The battle abruptly paused, as both the Aragami and Aegis soldiers ceased their fighting. Their gazes were fixed at the top of the building, particularly where a glowing red aura billowed up the dark sky. The moon hovering from above has now become a crimson color.

Even from within his cockpit, Gareth felt his throat constricted to the point where he could barely breathe. The air seemed heavy and thick, almost as if a vast sea was swallowing him. Thankfully to his relief, the suffocation only lasted for a moment, as the immense energy disappeared and the gravity around him returned to normal, along with the moon.

And there, he saw the God Eater standing at the edge, shackles are undone, wielding the long black blade in her hand, wind blowing her sky blue hair and black cape, and her crimson eyes looking down upon them.

She was ready for battle.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

As she raised her God Arc in the air, the ebony-colored blade gleamed under the moonlight. Its reddish glow makes it as though it was alive, hungry for blood. When she finished admiring the view of her sword, her crimson eyes trailed back to the on-going battle below her, where both the Aragami and the Aegis soldiers resumed their fighting shortly after she made her presence known.

The spilled blood across the battlefield had beckoned her. She couldn't ignore the whispering words of the Oracle cells that finally awakened within her, urging her with violent tendencies.

 _'Kill. Devour.'_

Like a wolf, Eva answered the need of her inner nature. She bends her knees, assuming the stance of a predator ready to pounce. Then, she jumped and leaped a great distance off the rooftop, passing the phalanx of Aegis soldiers below. Dust and pebbles flew up the air from where she landed.

Under normal circumstance, an ordinary human would have been splattered from the impact of falling a hundred feet down at the speed of a rocket. However, for the God Eater, this wasn't the case, as the Oracle cells within her blessed her a strength far beyond than most of her fellow mankind could possibly have, and thus when the dust cleared away, she stood back on her feet unscathed. She shot a glance over her shoulder, where the soldiers of the 1st Platoon remained on their guard.

"You boys and girls should stay well clear away from me," Eva said, directing her warning for the soldiers behind, "Weaklings like you lot will only get in my way..."

 _'The nerves of this thing...'_ Gareth thought to himself when the God Eater acted cocky with him and his fellow comrades.

The soldier followed his gaze at the blue-haired woman, who had casually approached the overwhelming numbers of Aragami in front of her, with her God Arc at her side and not even the slightest hint of fear on her face. As a matter of fact, the beasts were the ones who seemed rather anxious at the God Eater's presence, as they started backpedaling.

One Kongou however, dared to stand its ground. The ape-like beast beat its chest and growled at her. It promptly charged head on towards her, pulling back one of its tree chunk size of an arm for a punch. When the fist connected with a thundering clap, Gareth expected for a moment to see the prisoner's broken body lying on the ground. He was dead wrong, however. His eyes widened fully at the sight of her catching the fist with the palm of her much smaller hand, and subsequently stopping herself from being pushed back any further.

She swiftly countered with an attack of her own, running half the length of her sword through the Kongou's chest. Then, the blade itself makes a growl as it transformed into the bestial form of a canine head with shaggy black fur, golden eyes and a large fang-filled mouth. Wails of pain escaped out of the ape-like beast's mouth when the hound creature used its razor sharp fangs to rip chunks after chunks of its flesh. Eventually, the Kongou dropped dead on the ground.

As soon as her God Arc finished feasting, waves of reddish energy emitted out of the God Eater's body. She felt the newfound power surging within her, as the veins on her body glowed and her crimson eyes turning into a bright, golden hue that resembled an Aragami's. Moreover, her left arm took on a monstrous shape covered in black scales and replacing her hand with a bulging claw.

Not satisfied with only one Aragami kill, Eva turned her attention over to the rest of the Aragami, her lips curved into a wolfish grin. In a blink of an eye, she vanished from her spot. The next moment, however, she reappeared, her bulging claw hooked onto the face of an Ogretail. With a squeeze of her claw, its head crushed open like a watermelon. Many of the beasts nearby started retreating like a scared animal would do if they encounter an apex predator.

 _'My god. What have you done, Corporal Amamiya?'_ Gareth thought, feeling the chills down his spine.

No matter how the soldier saw it, the God Eater was much more of an Aragami than a human being. As he watched her hacking up the beasts around her with either her sword or claw, he could easily tell that killing the Aragami was more of a sport for her than a sense of duty, if the glee on her face was of any indication.

"This is Operator Fujiki to Eva," Nozomi called out over the comm, fixing her eyes at both the vital readings and radar scanner from her terminal, "Your burst level will fade in ten seconds. Also, a large Aragami presence will be heading your way. ETA's three minutes."

"Understood," Eva replied into her headset, as she held down the head of a whimpering Ogretail under the sole of her boot.

Ren, who had been watching Eva's involvement in the battle through the monitor, was left flabbergasted. Witnessing the fighting prowess of a God Eater was a rare and truly awe-inspiring sight for him.

A few minutes later, the large Aragami which Nozomi was referring to, had appeared in front of the blue-haired woman. It came in the form of a tiger-like beast with a distinctive jet black body and a white-bearded humanoid face. The smirk expression and its skeletal wings on its back had given off a malevolent vibe.

"A Dyaus Pita," Nozomi said aloud, identifying the Aragami in question.

The Corporal knew well enough what a Dyaus Pita was from his own studies in class and personal accounts from his own parents. A variant of the Vajra-class Aragami and one of the strongest of its type. It's infamously nicknamed the Dark Emperor. Apparently, he heard one particular Dyaus Pita had given his mother and Nozomi's older brother one of their hardest fights back when the Fenrir Far East Branch had still existed.

"Gareth, I need you and some of the unit to move in. Get ready to support Eva," Ren said over the comm, as he remained wary on the threat of the Dark Emperor, "This Aragami could be a formidable opponent."

"Roger that..." Gareth replied, sounding reluctant to follow through with the order.

With her left arm returned to normal, Eva gripped both hands on the handle of her sword. Then, she assumed a zero stance - a posture where the long blade was pulled back until the pommel leveled with one's shoulder and the tip pointing at the opponent. As she did so, the red glow on the central ridge of her blade had grown brighter.

For a moment, neither her or the Dyaus Pita made a move, as they both circled around and sized up one another. Finally, it was the latter who attacked first, its cape emitting an electrical discharge that headed her way. However, with a swing of her blade at the air, a wave of violet energy with red outline flies forward. When both energies struck each other, the impacted blast created a shockwave that almost staggered the other Aragami and the God Arc Soldier units nearby.

Next, the God Eater charged out from the cloud of smoke. The Dark Emperor could not react in time when the tip of her blade buried in one of its red eyes. It lets out an agonized howl mixed with anger and pain. To add further insult to its injury, the cluster of barrels from her God Arc unleashed a torrent of flame, setting its entire head ablaze. Quickly, she yanked her sword out and moved out of the way before the paw could hit her.

The enraged beast thrashed around violently, brutally killing a few of the closeby Ogretails with its paws or wings, who were unfortunate to stand close enough to bear the brunt of its anger. Then, the Dyaus Pita turned back around to face the culprit responsible for one of its missing eyes. Its mouth formed into a snarl, before it opened as wide as possible to drew out an ear-piercing roar that crackled the air, followed by a bright, red aura that glowed around its body.

"Be careful. The Aragami is activating," Nozomi warned over the comm.

"That's the plan I'm going for," Eva replied, sounding pretty sure of herself.

An Aragami was at their most dangerous when they activated - a state of constant rage. Its attacks and movements would become far more aggressive, and normally, it wouldn't be a surprise if a God Eater find themselves overwhelmed by their sheer ferocity. However, as far as Ren can see, he needn't worry about Eva. Despite the Dyaus Pita's numerous attempts to blast her with lightning bolts or ripped her apart with its own limbs, none of its attacks have hit the mark, as she either dodged or blocked with the shapeshifting shield of her God Arc.

"She's incredible," he remarked, "I knew there was something different about these God Eaters. But I didn't expect them to be this strong..."

Nozomi nodded her head in agreement.

"Indeed. The 4th generation God Eaters are said to be vastly superior to their predecessors," she explained, "They borrowed the best elements from the previous generations, namely the versatile God Arc and the Blood Power. Plus, they've also developed unique abilities of their own..."

The Corporal didn't even have to ask his operator what she meant by her last line, considering he already witnessed one of the mentioned unique abilities. Even now, it still gave him goosebumps when he vividly remembered the Aragami arm which Eva temporarily had, tearing one beast after another in a savage manner.

It's been a while since Eva and the Dyaus Pita had battled. The fight was massively one-sided, to say the least, with the latter being utterly dominated. Ren couldn't even think of one instance where he remembered the Aragami actually hurting the God Eater at all. He found it pitiful to watch the apparent great beast retreating on more than several occasions. If it weren't for its cowardly tactic, he reckoned she would have already finished it by now.

"Getting real tired of your crap," Eva shouted, sounding rather annoyed as she chased after the fleeing Dyaus Pita, her blade cutting down any other Aragami that obstructed her path, "Come back here, you little pussycat!"

Having glued his eyes to the monitor for so long, the Corporal had almost forgotten to look at the timer on his wristwatch. When he finally had a glance, his lips curved into a small smile as he noted there were only twenty-eight more minutes to go until their reinforcement arrive.

"Alright, we might just make it," he said.

However, he'd realized he has spoken too soon when he saw the shocked look on Nozomi's face. On the radar screen of her terminal, there were numerous red dots and yellow arrows, indicating the Aragami and the Aegis soldiers' signs respectively. The ones furthest away on the scanner were Eva, as indicated by her name under the arrow, and the large dot that represented the Dyaus Pita. His eyes widened when he saw what it was that alarmed his operator: an even larger dot heading over to the God Eater and her opponent.

Upon hearing the earth-shattering footsteps behind her, Eva turned around. Her crimson eyes narrowed at the peculiar Aragami in front of her. The size of its metallic black body with golden trims was about the same as the Dark Emperor while sporting a fair mane and several large spikes on its shoulders and wrists. Its overall appearance resembled that of a jackal, completed with menacing red eyes and black tusks. The jackal-like beast dropped both hands abruptly on the ground, taking the stance of a quadruped animal. When it growled at her, it sounded synthetic to her ears. The whimpering Dyaus Pita behind her saw the cue to withdraw at once, as it was afraid of this beast.

Without delaying any further, she tapped into her headset, "Operator. What the hell is this thing?"

"It's a Set," Nozomi replied, "A Type 3 Deusphage, also known as the Lord of the Northern Sky.."

"Yeah, no kidding..."

As she recalled from historical studies, Set was simply the Egyptian god of war, chaos, and storms. She found the name fitting, the more she studied the jackal-like beast.

"We're sending support your way, Eva," Ren said, "Just hold out."

"That won't be-" Her eyes blinked when Set attacked without warning, throwing a right-handed hook towards her. She instinctively shifted her God Arc into a shield.

Thankfully, her shield saved her from the worst of injuries. But nonetheless, the impact of the punch sent her flying backward until she crashed her back into the wall. She felt her head spinning round and round again, the voices in her ears sounded disoriented. But after a passing moment, she lets out a gasp when the nauseousness ended and her hearing returned to normal.

"Eva, come in. Are you okay?" Nozomi asked out of concern for her well-being.

"I think the lump at the back of my head... just got bigger," Eva replied, as she rubbed a hand to try to soothe the ache behind her head.

"Look out!"

Heeding the operator's warning, the blue-haired woman rolled out of the way before the enormous crimson energy beam struck her. She felt her skin tingling from the resulting blast's heat wave. When she glanced over her shoulder, her eyes widened after seeing the large hole in the wall that seemed wide enough to fit a boulder through.

There was no time for respite when she noticed the shadows hovering over her and subsequently looked up to see the beast diving downwards.

"Gareth, where are you?" Ren asked, shaking his head when he saw her struggle against the new foe, "She needs help now!"

"Trying to get there as fast as we can, Corporal," Gareth replied, as he and four other soldiers drove their units along the top of the walls, "But we've got another pressing matter here. Some of the Aragami have broken through our line. They're making their way towards the building!"

Sweats trickled down from Ren's forehead, as he stared at another screen on the monitor, where a pack of four Ogretails approached the gate of the main building. With Eva occupied dealing with Set and the remaining 1st Platoon trying to contain the rest of the Aragami horde, he didn't expect help to come anytime soon to their rescue.

 _'Crap. What should I do!?'_ he thought, pacing up and down the room while biting one of his fingernails.

Then, his face lit up as an idea finally sprung to his mind.

"Nozomi, you have control here," Ren said, as he turned around and made his way towards the elevator, not before laying down the black device on the table.

"Ren... What are you doing?" Nozomi asked, demanding his explanation.

Sighing, the Corporal glanced over his shoulder, "I'm gonna buy us some time. Trust me."

Although his answer was vague at best, the orange-haired operator saw the determination in his green eyes. She decided to trust her gut feeling, as she nodded her head a few times. And with that, Ren disappeared into the lift.

Panting, Eva could taste the blood in her mouth. Its bitterness made her spat it out before she wiped the back of her hand across her lips. Her crimson eyes trailed back up to follow the movement of Set, who was slowly circling around her.

It was then Nozomi's voice crackled over the comm, "Your vital signs aren't looking good. You're taking a lot of damage."

"Tell me something I don't know already," Eva replied.

She hates to admit it, but things weren't looking good for her at the moment. Since their duel began, the new and unfamiliar foe had gained the upper hand on her, as she was unable to land a solid hit. At least with the Dyaus Pita, she had first-hand insight into its capabilities, knowing what its strengths and weaknesses are. However, for Set, the Lord of the Northern Sky, she knew next to nothing about this Aragami, hence her struggle.

"Perhaps it's best you retreat for now," The operator suggested, "Recover yourself and regrouped with Private Lawson and his squad."

"What a brilliant idea! Let's run away with my back turned, knowing there's a freaking beast with god-like speed," Eva said, pursing her lips, "Not to mention, relying on those ancient heaps of junk to be my knights in shining armor..."

A frown creased on Nozomi's face, as she neither appreciate the God Eater's sarcastic tone, along with her quick dismissiveness on the usefulness of Gareth and his squad. Though she wanted to chastise her, her sense of duty as an operator compelled her to remain professional.

"I was only trying to help," she said, calmly.

"If you really want to help, Operator Fujiki," Eva replied, pausing to dodge the swipe of Set's claw, "I need useful intel on this Aragami."

Working with haste, Nozomi grabbed her tablet nearby, swiping her finger across the screen a couple of times until she found the page she was looking for.

"Most of the details about Set are sketchy at best. As of yet, no God Eaters has successfully defeated one. However, freeze attacks are reported to be effective against it, as well as aiming for its hind legs."

With the newfound knowledge in mind, Eva readied her God Arc once more. She shook her head when she looked past the Aragami and noticed the arrivals of five Aegis soldiers with their machines.

"We're here to help," Gareth informed her over the comm.

A sigh escaped her lips. She'd like to dismiss these soldiers, believing they will only end up throwing their lives away for nothing. However, she had a gut feeling they wouldn't take "no" for an answer. Besides, it was already too late for them to retreat when their presences grabbed Set's attention.

"Alright, then listen up," she said, tapping into her headset, "I need you and your squad to hit it with everything you got. Create an opening for me, so I can come in and finish the job. Are you guys capable of that?"

"Don't question our abilities," Gareth replied, his tone slightly annoyed, "We may not have fancy powers like you do, but we are combat effective."

On his signal, Private Lawson and the four other soldiers split up and charged towards the beast in a pincer movement. To their credits, Eva saw them holding their own against Set, as they carefully timed their turns to dive in and stab the Aragami with their blades before withdrawing to a safe distance. She almost felt silly for underestimating their competence.

Finally, their excellent teamwork has paid off when two of the soldiers simultaneously buried their blades into both hands of the beast, pinning them down to the ground.

"Now!" Gareth shouted.

Once the window of golden opportunity presented itself, Eva wasted no time to make her move. Her longsword transformed into a pair of shorter blades, which she wielded in both hands. Rushing up from behind the Aragami, she swung the dual blades in a wide arc, cutting both its hind legs which forced it down on its knees. Her attack did not stop there, as she slashed away at the vulnerable creature, cutting its back and arms.

The Set eventually broke free when it lets out a breath of crimson flame to the ground, which spread far enough to force Eva and the Aegis soldiers to back off. The moment it turned around to face the former, it found itself staring down into her transformed God Arc that take the shape of a six-barrelled rotary machine gun. The weapon makes a whirring sound before lines of frozen spikes discharged out of the cluster of barrels and peppered into the beast's chest. Within a matter of seconds, the Aragami was encased in an ice block.

'You're mine!" The God Eater thought, as her God Arc shifted back into a long blade and dashed towards the frozen beast.

At first, it seems like the table has turned and victory was within her reach. Her thought was proven wrong when the spearhead of a long metallic tail shot out of the ice block and pierced into her abdomen. Before she knew it, she was down on her knees with blood coughing out of her mouth.

Even with her blurred vision, she could still make out the shape of the monstrosity breathing torrents of crimson flame at several of the Aegis soldiers. The intensity of the fire was overwhelmingly powerful to the point their units have turned into ashes. Her face twisted with pain when she attempted to pull herself out of the spear, only to realize her efforts were futile in the end.

With his desperate idea in mind, Ren went back outside, as he attempted to lure the Aragami away from the gate by lobbing frag grenades at their direction, hoping it would provoke them to chase after him instead. He paused for a moment and clenched his teeth when he saw what had happened to Eva, as well as some of his fellow comrades at the corner of the base.

"Operator," Eva said, weakly, "Release my restraints..."

"It's too risky!" Nozomi argued, shaking her head wildly.

"If you don't do it... We're all going to die..."

Faced with a dilemma, Nozomi was left uncertain on how she should proceed. On one hand, if she released the limiters on Eva's powers, there was a chance she could lose her humanity forever. But on the other hand, if she chooses not to do so, it seems certain the God Eater will be killed, along with her, Ren, Gareth and the thousand refugees residing at the base.

 _'What would my brother do if he was here?'_

Reaching into the pocket of her corset vest, the orange-haired operator took out a yellow bandana, her thumb and fingers fiddling with the fabric as she fondly remembered her brother's words.

 _'I'll do whatever it takes to protect my friends and family!'_ She recalled him saying a long time ago back when she was still young.

Recognition dawned on her face, as she made up her mind at last. Her eyes looked over to the black device on the table.

"Releasing restraints now. Give it all you got! And please come back safe!"

Ren reached a hand for his throat, as he felt pressure crushing his lungs. He opened his mouth wider to gasp for more air. Somehow, the air around him became heavy and thick, which gave him the familiar feeling of an invisible ocean. Then, it hit him on his mind, as he turned around.

When he looked at her, the Corporal had a splitting image of an angel. Except this pale-skinned angel had a darker appearance than the usual ones depicted on paintings with black wings, monstrous-shaped arms and a crimson aura to boot. Even her God Arc transformed entirely, as it assumed the form of a longer blade with serrated teeth of various sizes. The supposed heroine who would save them in their darkest hour of need, had a more villainous look than the villain itself, something which he found pretty ironic.

Upon her deafening roar, the ground shook beneath him, and the glasses on the windows were shattered. With the exceptions of the ringing sounds in his head and the harshness of his struggling breath, everything became deaf to his ears. Nonetheless, he was able to capture the sight of the dark angel battling against the jackal-like beast: a fight between true equals where none but the truly mighty are allowed in their realm.

He kept up his consciousness for as long as he possibly could until he saw the backs of the other Aragami retreating and the dark orange sky signaling the break of dawn. And lastly, the image of the dark angel standing on the fallen body of her defeated foe, while she looked up and basked in the dawn light.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

 _One week later..._

As the door opened and her head promptly lifted up, her lips curved into a small smile.

"Well, well, I'll be damned..." Eva said, her tone sounded surprised.

Long flowing silver-blond hair hangs over a heart-shaped face. Smooth, fair skin compliments her one and only one piercing blue set in their socket, and her rose-colored lips. A black patch was worn over where the right eye used to be.

This is the face of her visitor; a tall, slender one-eyed woman in a red beret and beige military uniform. She had given off a strong commanding presence as she strolls into the room.

Without uttering a single word out of her mouth, the woman only needed to shoot a glance once at them, and the two guards who had flanked the table, understood her instruction perfectly as they nodded their heads acknowledging. The pair brought their hands to their temples, as they saluted her. Then, they marched themselves out of the room, closing the door behind them, leaving both her and the prisoner alone.

The one-eyed woman stopped short before the table. Her piercing blue eye remained fixed on the prisoner.

"You know who I am?" she asked, with a calm and collected expression on her face.

A soft chuckle escaped from Eva's lips. "How could I not know? You're the great Colonel Alisa Illinichina Amiella," she replied, "The Commander of the Wolfhound Corps. Your name carries a lot of weight around here."

In spite of her young age of only thirty-six years, Colonel Amiella was perhaps the most distinguished high-ranking officer within Aegis League. A renowned second generation God Eater who used to serve Cradle - an independent, elite unit of God Eaters that once traveled around the world to deal with the Aragami threat when Fenrir had still existed as the world ruling organization.

Furthermore, she became the Director of Fenrir Far East Branch shortly after her retirement from the front-line. And although her tenure as the Branch Director was short-lived, it was thanks to her leadership that many of the Far East population were able to escape the Great Cataclysm on time - the event which brought a disaster of tremendous proportions that devoured Fenrir eight years ago and has forever reshaped the earth to the point where it no longer resembles the home the survivors once knew.

With her reputation as an exceptional battle commander, it was no surprise the leadership of Aegis League had sought her not long after they formed the resistance. And no sooner after Alisa had joined them, she quickly rose through the ranks. Now, the Colonel has currently been entrusted the responsibility of leading her very own division, the Wolfhound Corps - a combined arms formation that consisted of top-notch pilots for the God Arc Soldiers and various of other combat units. More importantly, the remaining forth generation God Eaters were attached to the same division.

"So, what can I do for you, Colonel Amiella?" Eva asked while she leaned back against her seat, curious to know what brought this living legend to pay the likes of her a visit.

For a long moment, Colonel Amiella did not answer her question. The one-eyed woman placed the black briefcase she was carrying flat down on the surface of the table before her gloved hand pushed the bag aside until it reached close to the edge. Then, she removed the black trench coat that draped off her shoulders and hanged it over the back of the empty chair beside her. Finally, she took her seat, and rested her wrists on the table, looking face to face with the prisoner. As she did so, a guard entered the room, carrying two plastic cups of black coffee.

Once the guard took their leave and closed the door behind them, Alisa briefly extended her hand out, as if she had permitted the prisoner to drink the coffee that was set down in front of her.

Her eyes trailed down to the steaming hot beverage. Something about the coffee told her she was going to be in this interrogation looking room for a while, just the two of them having a conversation. Although what exactly they would be talking about, she hasn't had the faintest idea yet.

With her shackled hands, Eva picked up the plastic cup and brought the rim to her mouth. One sip off the black coffee had her shaking her head, as it left a strong bitterly almost sour taste on her tongue; it was nothing less than she had expected from an instant coffee that came out of a vending machine. After two more sips, she placed the cup back down on the table.

The Colonel, on the other hand, appeared perfectly fine sipping away at the coffee like it was only cold water if that unfazed look of hers was any indication. Finally, she put her cup of coffee down, and she reopened, piercing blue eye stared right back at her.

"I'm here because I need your cooperation, Eva," Alisa said, in a straightforward tone like she meant business. "In exchange for your help, your past crimes will be pardoned. You will be a free woman after you've done everything that's been asked of you."

A few chuckles escaped out of Eva's lips. "You don't honestly expect me to believe that, do you, Colonel?"

It was wishful thinking for her to believe that the very same group of people, who had sentenced her to five long years of imprisonment out of fear, were now willing to grant her a chance to win her freedom.

"You can believe whatever you want," The Colonel replied, "But know this, what I'm about to offer you... isn't just a get of jail free card. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity. A chance for you to redeem yourself."

"And what exactly will I be doing?"

"Saving this world, of course."

For a moment, a pregnant silence hung in the air. Then, laughter erupted from her belly. The quest of trying to save what's left of this godforsaken world sounded like a joke for her. However, the one-eyed woman across the table didn't appear to find it so amusing, as she kept the same straight face she had worn since she had entered the room.

Eva managed to stop her laughing. "Wait... you're serious? I thought you were just pulling my leg for a second there..."

She heaved a sigh. "Colonel... I'll be frank with you here... This foolish endeavor of trying to save this world? That doesn't interest me at all. I mean, I could care less what happens to other people in general, much less want to risk my ass to prevent a bunch of them from being extinct..."

"Is that so? Your actions last week at the old satellite base seem to say otherwise," Alisa pointed out, "From what I heard, you fought valiantly against a horde of Aragami. You risked your body and soul to defeat Set, despite knowing there's a chance you might not come back at all."

The Colonel paused to take another sip of her coffee. "In doing all that, you've helped to defend the lives of our soldiers. And more importantly, you've helped to keep a thousand refugees safe. That doesn't strike me as a type of person who doesn't care about others..."

Eva shook her head. "I believe you've misinterpreted my actions, Colonel..."

"Oh, how so?" Alisa asked, seemingly intrigued as she folded her arms in front of her chest.

"I knew the horde was coming towards the base," Eva explained, "I knew these soldiers and their machinery wouldn't stand a chance against their numbers. I knew as soon as the beasts were done with everyone else, I'm going to be their meal..."

A bone cracking sound filled the room when she stopped to tilt her head to the sides. "For the sake of my own survival, I tried to convince Corporal Amamiya, the one who was in charge at the time, to release me, so I can get out there and fight. That damn stubborn fool didn't release me until thirty-something minutes later..."

"That sounds just like Ren, alright," Alisa muttered under her breath, with a small smile crept up on her face.

"What was that?"

The smile on the Colonel's face disappeared as quickly as it had arrived. "It's nothing..."

Her finger played with the rim of the plastic cup. "Anyway, I didn't fight as hard as I did because I want to save these soldiers and refugees out of the goodness of my heart. I did it for my own mutual benefit. That's all there is to it."

Alisa nodded her head a few times, a gesture of acknowledgement. "Well, regardless of your motive, I believe we could use someone of your talents within our ranks. It'll be a complete waste for you not to use them. Surely, you don't want to spend another five years in prison?"

Eva shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not exactly looking forward to fighting more of these monsters out there. Given the choice, I'd rather stay here."

"And do what? Spend most of your days locked up in a single room, staring at nothing?"

"Oh, it's nothing that grim... In fact, I do have a bit of luxury here. I get to read lots of books and contemplate on the stories. Keeping myself entertained over old movies on television. Doing workouts. Have a nice meal every now and again. Enjoy the occasional, pleasant conversation with either a guard or a fellow inmate."

"In other words, you're not doing anything purposeful with your life," Alisa said, with her brows furrowed.

"And do you think you'll get to enjoy those luxuries for much longer if you continue to stand by and do nothing?" she asked. "You're already aware we lost Ebonhold last week. You were there when it happened. It won't be long before the Aragami will come after the rest of the cities we have left."

Once again, Eva raised her shoulders in a shrug, not before she drew a sigh. "Well, that's no longer my concern, Colonel..."

"And how is it not your concern, Eva?" The Colonel pressed on. "You do care about your own survival, don't you?"

"Believe me, I much preferred to keep my flesh and blood intact," Eva replied. "But... I know when to call it quits. If the Aragami managed to breach Zion then... It's game over. There's no point fighting a battle that's already lost. And besides..."

She rubbed a hand against the itch on her thigh before she looked right back at the Colonel. "My sentence has already been handed down. It happened not long after I've arrived in the city. As for the verdict... I'm to spend the rest of my days locked away..."

Even now, her memories of the trial were still vivid. A bunch of pen-pushing, old geezers, and hags in their fancy uniforms, skimming over her file while she stood in the center of the room, flanked by two armed guards who'll keep her honest if she tries to make any sudden moves. Each and every one of them threw an accusing look at her when they learned of her past crime: how she plundered her blade in the back of her own commanding officer and left her for dead.

A couple of the officers were pretty vocal about their views when they called her a "monster." and all kinds of vile names they could think of. "This thing should have been executed!" One of them even suggested, which earned murmurs of approvals from some of the others. Not once did any of them come strongly to her defence, even after the fact she helped to save the lives of the 1st Platoon and the thousand refugees last week.

At this point, she was no longer interested listening to anymore what these old farts were spouting off about her, and she found herself staring off into space. It was all the same to her five years ago, except the presented officers who judged her at that time had younger faces and she considered them to be a lot easier on the eye to look at.

Once the officers were done with their back and forth debate, they finally reached their unanimous decision. And next thing she knew, she was escorted to her own cell, the size of a small bedroom that initially consisted of a single bed, toilet, sink, and a barred window before she added her own decorations. It was to be her home, where she was to remain there until the end of times.

"So, sorry to say, Colonel," Eva said, trying to sound apologetic as she slouched back in her seat. "You're already too late. And you've wasted your time to come all this way to see me... It was nice meeting you by the way..."

She expected Colonel Amiella to be up and on her way. With her sentence already decided by the other officers, any further discussion concerning her being given a second chance to win her freedom would have seemed pointless. However, to her surprise, Alisa had remained in her seat. Instead of being on her merry ways by now, she took her time to finish off her coffee.

Then, the one-eyed woman reached a hand over to unzip the briefcase beside her, rummaging through its contents. "These fellow officers of mine made a snap judgment without awaiting my return. Luckily for you, however, that mistake could easily be rectified..."

"What do you mean by that?" Eva asked, cocking her head to the side.

The Colonel pulled out the folder she was looking for. "All I have to do is talk things through with General Klopp, and he'll render that decision void."

"You can seriously do that?"

"And why not?" With her gloved hand, Alisa flickered through the pages. "Aegis League isn't a strict organization like Fenrir. We have some leeway on how we do things around here. And I'm pretty certain the General can see the wisdom of using you as an asset rather than having you wasted away in a cell room."

She knew the Colonel was a woman of legendary reputation among the resistance. Even so, Eva never expected her influence to be powerful enough to convince the General himself to reverse the decision of her fellow officers. It made her foolish to have slightly underestimated her.

When she found the page she was looking for, the Colonel flipped the folder vertically around before sliding it across to the prisoner.

Her eyes narrowed when an attached black and white photograph of a massive, gear-shaped steel door bearing the distinctive emblem of the Fenrir wolf head, flashed before her. She raised her chin, staring back at Alisa. "And what's this?"

"A research facility," Alisa replied. "According to the notes we've found, the Eden Project was conducted there."

"The Eden Project…" Eva repeated after the Colonel before she heaved a sigh. "Yup. How typical of those scientists… naming their pet projects from something so biblical…"

"And speaking of scientists, the one that was leading the project is Dr. Jorieke Willems."

Her lips twitched when the name of the head scientist was revealed.

"You know her, don't you?" The Colonel asked, having noticed the frown on her face.

A montage of memories flooded through her mind: the raven-haired woman in a lab coat, the bedroom with the white walls, the fluorescent-lit laboratory and the dark chamber. Neither one of these images were pleasant.

"That I do," Eva answered. "Let's just say… she was my mentor…"

The details in regards to Eden Project were vague at best as her crimson eyes skimmed through the notes. Then, her finger stopped trailing halfway at the page. A particular line grabbed her attention.

"The key to our salvation…" she said aloud.

Sighing, Eva closed the folder when she read enough, sliding it back towards Alisa. "Let me guess… You want to track down this facility?"

"That's right," The Colonel nodded. "And you're going to help with the investigation."

Involuntarily, her shackled hand made an attempt to reach behind her head in order to scratch a fingernail against both the hair and skin; a habit she was usually accustomed to whenever she pondered in deep thought. "And why do you need my help exactly?"

"You used to serve in the Intelligence Center," Alisa answered. "You know exactly where your old base is. And if you had read the notes any further, you'd find out that's where our next lead is."

"Not interested…"

"Why not? This could be the hope we're looking for. That one chance that can finally put an end to this nightmare we're in…"

Her gut clenched as the Colonel continued her rambling on how there was still a ray of hope left for humanity, preaching on how an everlasting peace was achievable. The voice became distant to her ears, and she shook her head wildly.

"Enough!" Eva snapped, her hand abruptly brushed aside the cup of coffee, its content spilling over the edge of the table.

She raised her chin, meeting eye to eye with the Colonel. "Enough with this crap, alright? That hope you're seeking for is nothing but an illusion… The truth is, there is no hope for us. There never was any, to begin with…"

Alisa across the table was unmoved even as the prisoner continued her ranting on the futility of their efforts.

"There are millions of these Aragami out there, and only so many of us left. Worse of all, we can't destroy them permanently. Whether we remove or break their cores, it doesn't make any bloody difference. Their scattered Oracle Cells will allow them to be reborn again. And not only that, they will evolve into something more stronger, faster and smarter than what they were before."

Eva shook her head as she leaned back against her seat. "You should just let it go, Colonel," her voice calmed down. "This nightmare we're in has already gone on for almost fifty years now. You and the 1st Unit may have stopped the Devouring Apocalypse once a long time ago. And so did the Blood Unit after that. But what did that achieve? Nothing… Nothing but eighteen more years of pain and misery…"

Her eyes remained fixed on the spilled coffee on the table. "What's the point delaying the inevitable from happening? If anything, it seems crueler to prolong the suffering. The most merciful thing we should do for the sake of humanity… is graciously accept our defeat. And let our cycle of extinction be completed. I mean it's all part of a natural order."

For a while, neither women had a spoken a word with one another. Only the silence dawned on them.

Then, the Colonel opened her mouth to speak, "You're quite the pessimist, aren't you?"

"I consider myself a realist," Eva answered while motioning with her hand. "I see things exactly the way it is. And based on all the evidence so far, we can't win. It's the plain simple truth, Colonel."

"If you truly believe things are as hopeless as you say they are, then you wouldn't have bothered waking up every morning for the last five years, would you?" Alisa fired the question at her. "After all, you said it yourself, there's nothing but pain and misery left for this world, right?"

In response, the prisoner kept her silence.

"I believe differently," The Colonel said, as she leaned forward from her seat. "If humanity were so weak, then our age should have ended a long time ago. But it didn't. We continued to persevere against the odds. Even managed to stop two Devouring Apocalypse in the past. What does that tell me?"

After a pause for a deep breath, she reopened her piercing blue eye. "It tells me humanity is strong. Survival is for the fittest, and we've proven ourselves fit. Although we will struggle, we will always find a way to prevail. It's in our human nature to do so. And as long as there are still living and breathing human beings among us, I'm not about to give up the fight so soon, no matter how slim our chances may be."

All Eva could do was draw a sigh out of her lips. Alisa was pretty much dead set on her hopeful and optimistic view to save their world. It was unlikely she would have been able to convince the Colonel to think otherwise. At the same time though, her passion and sheer tenacity for wanting to preserve what remains of their fellow mankind was something she begrudgingly respected, even if she disagreed with the notion.

She stood up from her seat. "I think we're done here, Colonel. For the last time already, I'm not interested. I don't owe you anything…"

As she neared the door, however, the Colonel's voice halted her in her tracks as if an invisible force compelled her to do so. "Not to me, you don't. But you do owe a debt to that one other person…"

Alisa shifted in her seat until her one and only piercing blue was able to meet with Eva's crimson eyes.

"Livie Collete."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"This is an outrage!"

It certainly wasn't what she ordered for breakfast this morning: the sudden appearance of Colonel Jean Sanchez, who decided to barge his way into her office without the courtesy of setting up an appointment with her. His face was red, and his nostrils were flared open, resembling a raging bull ready to charge at her, although he didn't quite have the muscular body that matched it. Instead, he was a short chubby man, who looked more like a spoiled child throwing his toys out of the pram.

Unmoved, Alisa reached for her cup of black coffee. "As I've said... General Klopp was the one who made the decision. If you've got a problem with it, then I suggest you go and take it up with him."

"But you're the one who gave him that idea! You-"

"If there's nothing else, comrade Sanchez, I'd like to finish my breakfast..."

The man clenched his teeth for a long moment. In the end, however, good common sense prevailed as he backed away from her desk at last and turned around. His departure was as promptly as his arrival into her office.

Once the door slammed shut, the raven-haired woman who stays back from the confrontation had approached the desk. The insignia of two silver bars was emblazoned on the upper arm of her beige service coat, signaling her rank as Captain. Moreover, she had the same patch of an Irish Wolfhound sat below the rank insignia just like the Colonel.

She was Captain Amanda Lin. The second in command of the Wolfhound Corps.

"This is just my opinion, Colonel... Perhaps it would be best you try to refrain from... antagonizing anymore of your fellow officers," The Captain said, folding her arms behind her back. "I'm just afraid they will try to make a move on you one of those days..."

"They're more than welcome to try," Alisa replied, her voice showing no hints of uneasiness.

As she was chewing, the Colonel motioned her head towards one of the leather sofas in front of her desk. On her cue, the Captain took her seat.

Grabbing a folder from the top of a pile, Alisa slides the file over to her subordinate. "Today, we will have a new member joining our unit. Please see to it that she's settled in as soon as possible."

The raven-haired woman across the table took her time as her eyes examined through the details on the document. "This girl sounds like a nut job already, having stabbed her own CO in the back..."

Sighing, Amanda tossed the file back down on the desk when she finished reading about their newest recruit. "We've got more than enough of these problem children among us. And they're not particularly easy to control, mind you... Do we really need another one to be added to their rag-tag group, Colonel?"

Alisa raised her chin to meet the brown irises of her subordinate. "You should know me well enough, Amanda. I make my decisions for good reasons."

Grabbing the file, the Colonel flipped it open. Her piercing blue eye staring at the mugshot of the blue-haired woman with crimson red eyes: Eva. "This young lady right here happens to be an exceptionally talented God Eater. Her records speak for themselves. With her skills and experience, she'll be an excellent replacement for the one we lost a week ago..."

Amanda nodded her head a few times. "Yes, a terrible shame that was..."

"Indeed," The Colonel paused to wash down her throat with black coffee. "And more importantly, she's the only surviving agent of Fenrir's Intelligence Center that we know of and has in our custody. She knows where her old base is located. With her cooperation, we may be able to uncover the secrets of Eden Project soon enough."

The Captain folded her arms in front of her chest. "You really think she'll be cooperative? I mean... We're talking about a girl who straight up murdered her superior in cold blood. Her integrity as a person is pretty damn questionable if you ask me..."

"Rest assured, she'll cooperate," Alisa replied, her fingers tapping away at the keyboard. "Because she has a debt to pay."

Ren followed closely behind the burly warden, as he leads him to the cell room where Eva was kept. Beyond their echoing footsteps down the dark corridor, the sounds of shouting, grunts, and object hitting against the flesh have reached his ears. The commotion grew even more audible by the time they finally reached the cell with its door left wide open.

His eyes widened at the sight that was unfolding in front of him: the grimace face of a young woman with her teeth clenching and crimson trickling down from her lips, as a black cylinder pressed against her throat, and the scowling face of her assailant who appeared to have a busted nose. He repeatably jabbed his fists into her abdomen like it was a punching bag.

"Is that... the best you got, Benny boy?" she managed to say before her lips curved into a smile. "For a big guy... You sure hit like a damn sissy."

Her mocking laugh was abruptly interrupted when the guard in question threw another hook, which this time connected against her left cheek.

"Stop this madness now!" Ren bellowed, as he stepped into the cell and made his presence known before the two guards.

However, after a quick glance at his direction, neither men paid any heed to his words, as they continued their assault. His stomach churned with disgust. Then, he turned around, facing the warden over at the doorway, who had casually lit up a cigarette for a smoke. "You need to tell your men to stop!"

"Why the hell do you care about that thing anyway?" he asked while shrugging his shoulders. "Besides, you don't have any authority here. I'm the warden, remember?"

Involuntarily, Ren found himself moving an inch closer to the warden, his hand crumbled into a fist as his green eyes stared dagger at him. His fist trembled for a long moment before the muscles finally relaxed to free his hand. Answering violence with another display of violence wasn't exactly the best solution, he figured in the end. There was always another option.

"Well, warden," he said, calmly. "You might wanna change your tune... because that thing happened to be an important guest Colonel Amiella has specifically invited. And if you carry on letting your men harm her important guest, what do you think she's going to do when she finds out?"

For once, the smug was wiped off the warden's face upon which he realized the gravity of the severe consequences. He took the cigarette out of his mouth before his eyes locked onto the two guards. "Alright, boys. Break it up! Give her the injection and let's go."

At their supervisor's order, the two guards complied as they ceased the acts of violence.

No sooner after the baton was withdrawn from her throat, Eva slumped down to her knees, gasping for breaths. She grunted when the needle of a syringe pierced into the bare skin of her upper right arm. Purplish fluids slowly emptied out of the tube and poured through her veins. Her mouth retched from nausea, yet fortunately, not a single drop had come from the contents of her stomach.

Ren narrowed his eyes, as he recognized the substance being used on Eva, the Oracle Suppressant. Like the name implies, it was drug intended to subdue the Oracle Cells within the God Eater, weakening them to the point where they are no different from an ordinary human being. If not for daily injections of the drug, she would have very easily ripped the two guards limb by limb with her bare hands, a feat he had already witnessed her achieving during last week's battle at the satellite base.

When she finally came to her sense, the prisoner lifted her head up in time to see the back of the warden and his two guards leaving her cell. There was only her and Ren left alone in the room.

"This sort of thing happens to you all the time?" Ren asked as he offered his helping hand.

Eva did not accept his offering hand. Instead, she managed to stand up on her own two feet before she dragged herself over to the sink in the corner of the cell beside the toilet.

"Not all the time," she answered, running her hands under the cool water. "If I behave well enough, the guards usually leave me be. But... Since this is going to be my last day at the cell, I might as well tell that Benny creep, who's been eyeing me up since I got here, exactly what I thought of him... He didn't take it particularly well as you can see..."

Ren was left scratching the back of his head. To him, it seemed rather unnecessary for her to go and provoke the guards for the sake of kicks and giggles.

As she was cleaning herself up, he took a quick survey of her cell. Surrounded by four faded lime-colored walls and a steel door with its small barred window to view the dark corridor outside, the room was not even spacious enough to fit in a double-sized bed. Living with only the bare necessities, all Eva had was a small mattress on the floor and a pile of reading materials to keep her occupied. It shuddered him to imagined she had spent the last five years confined in a similar accommodation back in Ebonhold.

"I'd offer you a chair if I had one, Corporal Amamiya," Eva said, whilst drying her face with a towel.

"It's actually Sergeant now," Ren corrected. "I was promoted quite recently."

"I see. In that case, congratulations, Sergeant Amamiya."

"Thanks..."

Once she finished cleaning, Eva crouched beside the mattress where she began her rummaging through the rucksack. "So, what are you doing here, Sergeant? Here to pay me a social visit?"

"Not exactly," Ren answered, leaning his back against the wall. "I'm supposed to escort you to the Den. The headquarters of the Wolfhound Corps. The Colonel will be waiting for your arrival."

She shot a glance over her shoulder. "You're no longer with the 1st Platoon?"

"No... It got disbanded..." He paused to drew a sigh. "After that beating, we took last week, there was no chance the 1st Platoon could recover... So, the remaining of us got shuffled into other units. Me? I got transferred to Wolfhound only just a few days ago."

Having found the black tank top she was looking for, at last, Eva wasted no time pulling her bloodied, white one over her head, disregarding the lone male presence in the same room as her.

"Hey! Instinctively, Ren averted his gaze elsewhere. "You do realize there's a guy in here with you!?"

"Relax, it's not like I'm stripping bare naked," she replied, nonchalantly. "Just changing my shirt, that's all."

"Still, you could have at least given me the heads up!"

Having said that though, Ren couldn't help but sneak a peak. Her full back tattoo consisting of roses and skulls in black ink was intriguing to look at. To him, it spoke volume of her rough upbringing and her strength; even more so when he could make out several of her battle scars that weren't covered by the inkwork.

"Anyways, we need to get going already," he said, after clearing his throat. "You've got a long day ahead of you."

The metropolis of Zion named after the promised land did not have the appearance that was as promising as its namesake. A countless number of dirt-faced refugees have flooded the slum with its decrepit housing made out of scrap metals. The elderly and the sick were forced to wait in long queue for the doctors. The desperately hungry ones fought over food rations like a pack of wild animals. And the grey sky above has further accentuated the gloominess.

Sighing, Ren pressed his foot down on the brake pedal, stopping the truck gradually before the large crowd of refugees pushing their way to grab rations and other supplies off the aid workers. With no other choice but to wait for them to disperse, he clicked the handbrake on before he reached into his jacket's pocket for a pack of cigarette.

He shot a glance over to Eva, who had sat beside him over the passenger seat with her leg crossed. Ever since their journey towards the Den had begun, the blue-haired woman spent most of her time gazing her crimson eyes out the side window, the palm of her hand resting against her cheek, looking disinterested at her surrounding.

"So uh, is this your first time in Zion?" Ren asked, trying to make small talk with her in the meantime.

"Nope," Eva replied. "I've been here before, once..."

She shook her head. "This place is still the same shit hole as I last remembered. One massive ghetto. Nothing has really changed..."

"Right..."

If there was one thing he learned about Eva ever since he met her a week ago, was that she was rather blunt with her words, the type of woman who isn't afraid to speak her mind freely even if it meant causing offense to others.

A sigh escaped out of her lips. "A million years of human evolution. And this... is what the remnants of humanity are being reduced to... Living like a bunch of gutter rats barely getting by with scraps... You'd think with all the advancement in science and technology, we should have been way beyond this Aragami problem by now. But instead, mankind got complacent... And now, because of that, we're standing on the verge of extinction..."

An incredulous look crept up on Ren's face, as he shot another glance over to Eva. "You're making it sound as though we're the ones to be blamed for the current mess we're in?"

"It's not like we can really blame the Aragami, can we?" She replied back with a question of her own. "They're just mindless beasts seeking to consume all lives like any apex predator would do. That's their nature, and we can't control that. But humans, on the other hand, we're different... As a species, we've got the gift to actually think for ourselves..."

She paused to shake her head. "And what do people do with that gift? They let their egos get in the way, causing chaos and destruction to others... Don't believe what I said? Go read a couple of history books. Since the dawn of men, war has been waged on one another... because of politics, religion, greed, power... It's tragic, really. All these times that humans fought each other like a bunch of primitive tribes... could have been better spent on doing something more productive... like developing an even more advanced technology to improve quality of life and so on..."

"But that's all in the past... We are working together, right now," Ren said, after taking a drag off his cigarette. "We're fighting with everything we got to beat back the Aragami in order to bring a better tomorrow for humanity..."

"Yeah... Only because a common enemy decided to show up. Even then, this unity is only temporary," Eva replied. "Assuming by some miracle that we managed to eradicate the Aragami threat once and for all, which I highly doubt will ever happen... Humanity will go back to fighting each other like how it always has been. Progress becomes stagnated. Then, the cycle continues on and on until the end of times..."

Sergeant Amamiya rubbed the back of his head, as he gathered his thoughts. "Not everybody wants to bring war and violence, you know..." he said. "There are many decent folks around here, who actually desire a peaceful world... And that includes me..."

"Peace?" Eva couldn't help but let out a chuckle at the notion of a peaceful world. "I'm sorry to break it to you, Sergeant Amamiya. But this peace you're looking for... is just a figment of imagination in your mind and everyone else who believes in it..."

"Okay... And what's that supposed to mean?" Ren asked for clarity.

"Newton's Third Law," She answered, after a deep breath. "For every action, there's an equal and opposite reaction. So... When there's heat, there's also cold. When there's light, there's also darkness. And... When there's love, there's also hatred... In other words, true peace is impossible... because there will always be an element that opposes it..."

Although he opened his mouth to speak, he struggled for words. Her cynical view of the world took him by surprise. It was a sharp contrast to the usual, optimistic men and women he has met in his line of work. He breathed a sigh of relief, feeling thankful that the crowd of hungry refugees from before had finally scattered; he wasn't exactly looking forward to hearing another minute of her rant on the flaws of humanity.

Another ten minutes of driving down the road and a military compound surrounded by tall chain link fence had crept into their view.

Eva straightened herself on her seat as she took the moment to study the base. The first thing that grabbed her utmost attention before anything else, happened to be the colossal sized, heavily-armored airship that sat near the air control tower. At least several dozens of engineers were seen carrying out maintenance work all around the massive vessel. Units of God Arc Soldiers and aircraft were being loaded onto the carrier at the mouth of the ship.

"That beauty right there... is Victory," Ren said, with a smile on his face. "It's the flagship for the Corps. From what I've heard, it took almost six years to finally build this titanic machinery. You see, when a group of determined people puts their mind to it, anything is possible. I mean, just look at it, how can you not think of hope?"

"Uh huh... Seems like a huge waste of valuable military resources if you ask me," Eva replied in her usual blunt manner. "Sooner or later, it's going to be another massive heap of junk that will join the graves of all the other junk creations..."

"Geez, you're so negative... Luckily for you, I'm pretty open-minded. But you best be careful what you say around other people... especially to the squadmates you're about to meet..."

"My squadmates?"

"God Eaters like you..."

A group of six individuals walked together down a dimly lit corridor. The darkness has mostly obscured their faces and bodies, almost turning them into shadowy figures. Even so, there was a glint from their red metallic armlets.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

 _'Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.'_

 _Friedrich Nietzsche_ _  
_

* * *

A wave of warmness hit her cheeks as soon as she stepped a foot inside the main building of the Den. The interior of the military base had a Spartan feel to it. Thick, dark metallic materials were built into all surfaces - the type of component that could seemingly withstand heavy attacks like a blast of explosion (although she wasn't so certain it'll do much good against the rampage of an Aragami). Little to no efforts were being spared to cover up or discreetly hide the bundles of cables that connected the computer terminals situated to the sides of the area. There were hardly if any fancy decorations lying around such as paintings mounted up the walls, plant pots and carpets in order to liven up the place like it was supposed to be a home befitting of an aristocrat; it appears the idea of trying to make the complex more visually appealing towards visitors was hardly going to be the Aegis League's highest priority.

The lobby was bustling with activity, as soldiers and other military personnel were either marching briskly in and out of the building or casually mingling over at the red sofa seating in the four corners of the area. A long mahogany counter was positioned in the center of the lobby, where the operator team could be heard relaying information over their headsets or attending the inquiries of some of the soldiers, all of which were performed in a calm, professional manner that they were trained to do. Mounted up the wall behind the operators were the large worn flag of white background and the golden shield of Aegis.

While following closely behind Ren, she could sense the watchful gazes of many around the lobby, watching her intently like some curious specimen that they have never seen before. The mutterings of those she passes by were barely audible, but she could already tell more or less what they were trying to say behind her back. It was something along the line of "Great, another one of those things..."

"Wow, seems like you're the center of attention around here," Ren remarked.

Eva snorted. "They're not exactly rolling out the red carpet..."

The animosity that the soldiers felt towards her was of no surprise to her. People like her were simply considered dangerous freaks, hardly different from the enemy whom they are fighting against. If they had things their way, she reckoned they probably would have put her and every remaining God Eaters left in their custody to be exterminated so that their fears can be put to rest.

They climbed up one of the two stairways besides the reception counter leading up into the next floor that was much less crowded than the one on the ground. Up ahead, the logistics personnel team was seen hauling crates of various sizes into the large, centered elevator; several of the smaller-sized lifts were positioned on either side of the floor. Her eyes flickered to the huge monitor that was almost the size of a movie screen, lying on the wall right above the large elevator.

The screen displayed a black and blue grid map of the current world. Before the cataclysm, she remembered the world used to be divided into seven continents (or six and five, depending on how geographers from the other countries looked at it back then). Her former homeland, Great Britain or simply Britain, was a large island in the North Atlantic Ocean, separated from Ireland in the west and lies off the northwestern coast of the Europe continent. Now, the British Isles, as well as all the islands that were presented during the old world for that matter, has ceased to exist. Instead, the calamity event has reshaped the earth into a single massive landmass known as the Ashland that was said to be bigger than the water that surrounded it, which in turn resulted in an erratic climate that has barely made the planet habitable, at least that's what a scientist told her a long while ago.

Zion itself was located close to the southeastern coast of the Ashland, as the labeled orange dot had indicated on the map. To the further northwest of the city, which she guessed was about a thousand miles away, had been Ebonhold (the city where she was incarcerated for the past five years and recently escaped its destruction about a week ago) that is now greyed out to indicate its inactive status. A dozen more places where Aegis had set up shop was spread out across the Ashland. What became pretty clear to Eva, after studying the map for a moment longer, was that there were more grey dots than the orange, reminding her grimly of their dire situation.

A sigh of relief escaped out of her lips once they disappeared into one of the smaller elevators and the doors slide shut to muffle the noise from the lobby. It wasn't long before the lift's motor began its humming.

"So... About these other God Eaters in the squad... What can you tell me about them?" Eva asked.

"Huh?" Her sudden question broke him out of his reverie. For once, Sergeant Amamiya seemed surprised she made the rare effort to ask him a question this time, considering she wasn't much of a talker and he was usually the one who took the imitative to start the conversation.

"Well... Um... I can't really say I know a whole lot about them on a personal level," he replied while rubbing the back of his head briefly. "But, from what I've heard, they're a pretty talented bunch. Said to be the cream of the crop among the 4th generation God Eaters or AGEs I should say. Colonel Amiella herself handpicked each of them. At the same time though, they can be... troublesome. At least that's what my new squad-mates told me..."

Eva narrowed her eyes. "Troublesome? What? You mean they're like bat-shit insane or something?"

Ren chuckled. "I wouldn't put it as crassly as you did, but... yeah... let's just say, each of them have their unique baggage... My squad-mates were strongly insisting that I tread carefully whenever I'm around them. I heard some engineer got his teeth knocked out for saying something that ticked one of them off. And some poor operator had her hair set on fire for god knows what reason..."

Eva rolled her eyes. "Lovely..."

The motor's humming sound had ceased when the lift reached its chosen floor. It was then followed by the hissing of the hydraulic mechanism doing its magic to slide the doors wide opened, revealing a dimly-lit corridor with blue fluorescent light. She followed Ren's lead, their footsteps clicking along the metallic flooring.

"Here we are..." Ren spoke at last, as they stopped before the double steel door at the very end of the corridor. He turned around, facing the blue-haired woman. "Alright, remember what I said earlier on, about being careful what you say around others? Yeah, I seriously meant that... So... If you've got an opinion about something. It's probably for the best you keep it to yourself..."

"Why?" Eva asked, cocking her head to the side. "Is there a law around here that forbids me from having an opinion?"

"No... But..." Ren lets out a sigh. "Look, all I'm saying is that you need to be more tactful when you talk to others... I notice since the first day we've met, you have this habit of speaking your mind freely. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, but... Not everybody is going to take what you said pretty well... Know what I mean?"

He was expecting a head nod or at the very least, a word of acknowledgment such as "alright" or "okay" coming out of her mouth. However, to Sergeant Amamiya's disappointment, the blue-haired woman merely shrugged her shoulders and instead, she said:

"You know... I never understood this notion that... one should compromise their individuality on the behalf of others... I am what I am, Sergeant Amamiya. And if people don't want to accept that, then that's fine by me. I don't need their approval, nor do I care for it. The only person that I ever needed approval from is the one standing in the mirror every morning."

Ren was left sighing heavily afterward. It never ceased to amaze him how difficult of a person she can be. Her assertiveness kind of reminded him of a stubborn and uncooperative, old-timer. But at the same time though, there was something he found quite admirable the way she was able to speak her mind freely without having to worry about what others thought of her.

He turned back around to face the double steel doors, drawing a deep breath as if he was thinking to himself: _'Okay... Here we go...'_

* * *

A commotion was in progress as soon as they stepped into the bright-lit room that greatly resembled a lecture hall with tiered black plastic seating, mahogany podium, and a huge white projection screen.

Standing over to the left seating set and around the middle rows, one of the participants involved in the shouting match was a young man with short, wavy black hair and had a very boyish face to match with his lean build. Judging from his fairly youthful appearance, Eva reckoned he couldn't have been more than eighteen years of age; hell, for all she knew, he might have been younger than that. Regardless, if a bartender was to see him walk up to the bar and order an alcoholic beverage, he was most likely going to be rejected.

The other one though, whom he was exchanging heated words over to the right seating set happened to be a bulky, muscular woman with long strawberry blond hair and wore a cropped denim vest. She didn't appear very feminine with those multiple facial piercings, revealing broad shoulders, bulging biceps and rock solid abs. If nobody had heard that deep, womanly voice of hers, they could have easily mistaken her for a man. She wore a fierce scowl on her face; her blue-grey eyes burning with rage were fixated upon the boy. Fortunately, there was the distance between them. If not, Eva had no doubt this angry woman would have already grabbed him by the collar of his shirt; then again, given the rising tension of their ongoing argument, she may very well decide to cross over to him and do that.

As for the other four individuals presented in the room, they remained in their seats, making no efforts whatsoever to quell the quarrel between the two.

Seated a row below the angry woman was a young man of curly dark brown hair, who had his arms folded in front of his chest and his eyes closed. Despite the ruckus that was going on around him, he seemed pretty carefree, as his lips were curved into a smile while listening into his portable music player via earphones. The simple fact that he was wearing blue and red striped pajamas had been quite telling of his casual character.

Near the bottom row of the center seating set, another guy and a girl were sitting next to each other with their legs crossed. Compared to the others, the two of them stood out with their black mourning clothes that resembled Gothic Victorian fashion. The handsome gentleman in velvet coat was occupied with playing around his tablet device. As for the striking lady who wore satin long-sleeved dress and birdcage hat, she held up a small gold mirror while applying her dark purple lipstick. They both bear the same hauntingly beautiful features: long flowing silver hair, emerald eyes, and flawless pale skin. If she was a betting woman, Eva had guessed they were twins.

Lastly, there was a comely girl of wavy rose pink hair who sat at the top row of the left seating set. Her teal eyes remained focused onto the page of the red hardcover book she was reading, seemingly ignoring the commotion around her like it didn't even exist. Thin golden-framed glasses sat on the bridge of her nose. She wore a ruffled white blouse and cream-colored skirt with white stockings underneath, giving off the impression of a high-class young lady who had belonged in an aristocratic family.

If there was one thing Eva knew for sure what she had in common with all six individuals in the room, were the same red metallic armlets attached to their wrists - the cursed shackles that were designed to keep their monstrous powers in check, preventing them from turning into the same kind of beasts whom humanity has feared for almost five long decades.

Neither of her fellow God Eaters seemed to be aware of her and Sergeant Amamiya's presences in the room. Eva rolled her eyes as the argument continued.

"Shinji... Seriously, kiddo... I'm warning you now... Just shut the hell up, okay?" The muscular woman asked in a calmer tone than before, having taken a deep breath to restraint herself. "I say it one last time... There was nothing that you and any of us could have done for Yasmin, alright? Nothing! We were caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. So, end of story!"

In spite of her request to bury the hatchet, Shinji merely shook his head, refusing to back down. "Yeah... You go on and keep telling yourself that, Colleen... It must be real nice... acting like everything is okay and nothing has happened... I guess they must be right when they say... ignorance is a bliss..."

Neither this Shinji nor Colleen have spoken another word. Other than the faint noises of a page being flipped over, keyboard tapping and playing soundtrack, the room was mostly quiet like a funeral had just taken place. But then, the pregnant silence that hung around the air was broken shortly afterward when a plastic chair crashed into the thick metallic wall; it was thrown with such speed and force that broken the chair in two halves. By now, the rest of the God Eaters who didn't seem too bothered about their arguing before had finally flickered their eyes over to the two.

In her moment of fury, Colleen had almost tripped over the plastic seats on her way towards Shinji. To his credits, Shinji hadn't shown the slightest hint of fear as he stood his ground and continued to egg her on. He may have been a small guy when compared to that Amazonian-sized of a woman, but he certainly demonstrated he was no wimpy, pushover, who'll cower easily when threatened.

The curly-haired man who had stopped listening to his music once the commotion reached a boiling point, bolted from his seat and caught up with Colleen, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind. Despite his best efforts to hold her down with all the strength he could muster, he was unable to stop her entirely in her track.

"Calma, calma," he said, trying to reason her. "No need to get so upset over this, Colleen darling."

"Don't call me darling!" The muscular woman shouted, baring her teeth as she dragged her legs forward. "And get the hell off me, Antonio! I've had it with this snot-nosed little shit running his damn mouth!"

Ren who had stood back and watched the quarrel beside Eva was hoping the two God Eaters will be able to talk out their problem in a peaceful and civilized manner without having to resort to violence like a couple of barbarians would do. However, it became evidently clear to Sergeant Amamiya that what he wanted was wishful thinking at best.

"Okay, guys! That's enough! Break it up!" he ordered, making his presence known as he marched right up to Colleen "O'Neill, I suggest you better calm down or-"

"I don't take orders from you! Piss off!" The muscular woman snapped.

The twins and the girl with glasses did not intervene. Instead, their gazes had, at last, fell upon Eva. The sibling was muttering with one another, their faces remained neutral like they weren't sure what to make of her. The latter on the other hand, had a little smile on her face as if she was pleased to see a new God Eater among them; another would-be comrade that shares their burden of being a weapon used to safeguard humanity.

Eva however, wasn't all too pleased to meet her squad as her head shaking had indicated.

"It's so melodramatic in here..." she said aloud. "Honestly, if you guys were hoping to win some sort of award with your theatrics, then please don't... It's dreadful enough as it is, and furthermore... This is a military institution, not some drama theatre.."

Sure enough, the other three God Eaters turned their heads towards the new individual whom they have seen for the first ever time today.

"And just who in the hell are you?" Colleen asked bluntly.

"This is Eva," Ren answered her question on Eva's behalf (even though she probably didn't ask for it). "As of today, she'll be transferred into your squad. So please make your new squadmate welcome..."

Given by their wide-eyed and opened mouth expressions, this was news to the squad. Clearly, nobody had informed them beforehand that this woman standing in front of them with her unkempt sky blue hair and slightly ripped clothes like she had been living in the wilds, was going to be their new squadmate.

"You're kidding me..." said Shinji, his face full of incredulous disbelief. "We haven't had a funeral for Yasmin... Her body's probably not even cold... And yet the Colonel went ahead and send us a replacement!? I don't believe this..."

The whiny voice that reached her ears had her rolling her eyes like she had done so for the second time since meeting her squad. It was of no surprise to her that the boy, given the youthfulness of his age, had lacked the maturity to understand why a grizzled veteran like Colonel Amiella had made the swift tactical decision to replace their fallen comrade.

"You keep going on and on about your fallen comrade like it's the end of your friggin world, mate," Eva spoke up, her British accent coming off strongly. "God Eaters come and go. It's natural in our line of work. And if you're not ready to accept that, then you had best go see a doctor or something. Declare yourself unfit for duty, because clearly... your head's not in the right place..."

She heaved a sigh, as she shifted on her feet and addressed the rest of the squad, "Honestly, I'm starting to think the Colonel's decision to bring me back in the fold... was a pretty hasty one. Desperate, foolhardy and just ill-advised... Sergeant Amamiya here," Her head motioned over to Ren, "informed me you guys are meant to be the cream of the crop among the AGEs... But I'm thinking you lot are more like cream of the crop of being drama queens..."

"What the hell did you just say!?" Colleen snapped, striding down the steps with a twitch on her face.

The muscular woman stood a head taller over Eva, her blue-grey eyes bearing down upon her. Unfazed, Eva lifted her head up, returning the gaze with her crimson eyes. Both women were engaged in their staring contest, sizing up one another.

"I don't like that tone of yours, new gal," Colleen spoken at last. "And I don't like the look of your face, especially... It makes me wanna do violent things to it..."

"Is that so?" Eva replied, removing her hands from her pockets. "Well, what are you waiting for then? Come and show me what you got, she-male..."

A sweat rolled down from Ren's forehead. One of the worst-case scenarios that the Sergeant feared and had warned his charge to avoid at all cost before they entered the room, was about to happen right here and now. "Look guys... How about you just-"

His attempt to diffuse the bad situation was quickly cut off when the muscular woman threw her fist, burying it into the abdomen of her new squadmate.

A gagging sound, followed by saliva escaped out of Eva's mouth. She felt the wind blown out from her stomach as if a brick struck her. Although she anticipated the punch was coming, she did not expect this hulk of a woman was capable of moving a lot faster than what her size implied. It was all a miscalculation on her part that made her looked rather foolish for having underestimated her opponent's capabilities.

Alerted, she recovered in time to push herself off her assailant, evading the haymaker of a second punch that probably could have knocked her down for the count. Before she could formulate her counterattack, however, the muscular woman was on the attack again: charging at her like some enraged wild boar that gave its challenger no room to breathe. Next thing she knew, a pair of strong arms wrapped themselves around her legs and she was lifted right off her feet by her opponent, who carried her so easily as though she was a toddler. Then, she found her spine slammed into the metallic wall beside the projection screen, the shock of pain shot through her body, forcing her to let out an involuntary cry.

Grunting in pain, Eva instinctively crumbled her hands into fists and swung both her arms simultaneously, the knuckles connecting against the temples of her opponent's head. It did the trick, as Colleen released her grip and staggered back, not before she swore profusely. As she bends down with her hands to her kneecaps and gasping for breath, Eva looked back up at her opponent.

Both Ren and the curly-haired young man named Antonio were trying to talk some sense into the furious Colleen while struggling to hold her back. In the end, however, their efforts were in vain, as the muscular woman threw her arms forward and backward, knocking both men flat on their butts. Then, she came right back at Eva, who had stood up straight and narrowed her eyes - the determined look of a woman who was fully prepared to defend herself.

Eva waited at the last possible moment before she stepped aside to avoid being gored by this woman-shaped battering ram. Her reckless opponent ended up crashing head first into the same spot of metallic wall that she had been rammed into a moment ago; she might have laughed about Colleen's misfortune if she wasn't involved in a scrape with her. Like a well-trained hunter, she seized her golden opportunity: planting the sole of her boot against the back of her opponent's calf, which had her pinned down on one knee. Then, she went and grabbed a handful of the muscular woman's strawberry blond hair, yanking her head back until their eyes were met.

A barrage of fist jabs landed on Colleen's nose, crimson trickled down from one of her nostrils. However, she wasn't about to go down easily. While thrashing around to free herself, she managed to elbow the blue-haired woman in the rib. Eva groaned and backed off at once. Colleen stood back on her feet and turned round to face Eva, blaring her teeth where some of them were soaked in blood. With a roar, she was about to charge at her until the loud, commanding voice of a woman stopped her in her tracks:

"ENOUGH!"

Eva flickered her eyes over to the pair of female figures that stood over by the right entrance. One of the women happened to be an unfamiliar face to her: A long, straight black hair hanging over a fine, frowning face. Chestnut brown eyes, set sunken within their sockets, were gazing at her. She wore the standard, beige officer uniform consisting of a coat and knee-length skirt. The other woman standing beside her, however, was a recognizable character that it'd been near impossible for her to be mistaken: red beret, silver-blond hair, black eye patch and a single piercing blue eye. Suffice it to say, Colonel Amiella had also disapproved of the violent display that had taken place in the room, her face mirroring the same frown as her fellow officer.

"What in the hell do you two think this is!? Some kind of bar where you can get pissed and beat the shit out of each other!?" The raven-haired woman raised her voice, her line of questioning sounded more rhetorical than actually seeking meaningful answers from either Eva or Colleen.

Surprisingly enough, Colleen stood down from the mere presences of this officer and Colonel Amiella, something Eva wouldn't have expected given the woman's hot temper and her aggressive tendency to inflict violence upon others when provoked. Without any protest, the muscular woman had quietly retreated to sit down in one of the seats. Likewise, Eva followed in suit, sitting further away from her, which was probably for the best considering animosity between them. Ren breathed a sigh of relief, as he was thankful the commotion was over at last.

Colonel Amiella took her stand on the podium, glancing her one eye at each and every one of the seven God Eaters presented in the room. "1st Unit, I know that you have recently lost a fellow comrade last week," she began addressing the squad with her usual, calm tone. "She was one of the finest daughters that humanity could ask for... A stalwart defender who was willing to give it her all to defend her fellow men to the bitter end... She will be missed..."

After inhaling a deep breath, the one-eyed woman continued, "But... This isn't the time to be tearing each other apart... By doing that, you will be tarnishing the efforts which your fallen comrade and all those who came before her, who have sacrificed their bodies and souls to try to save this world... If you really wish to honor their memories, then you had best save your anger and strength for our common enemy out there... And right now, we need the strength of the 1st Unit more than ever..."

Eva had to admit to herself, that Alisa had a certain charisma about her that befitted a commander entrusted to guide her troops towards victory. The blue-haired woman only needed to take one look around her, noting the lit in several of her would-be comrades' eyes - the signs of conviction that they actually believe in the Colonel and would even be willing to follow her into the depths of hell itself. As for herself, she wasn't so easily moved by her speech, however admirable it might have sounded. To her, it was all just a catharsis.

The Colonel paused to adjust the black trench coat draping over her shoulders. "And with the lost of Ebonhold, I can't stress enough how dire our situation is," she said. "Therefore, it is imperative that we must unravel the secrets of the Eden Project sooner than later. And to that end, I decided we'll have Eva here," she shot a glance over to Eva, "joining your squad as of today."

Sighing, Eva wasn't particularly fond of being the center of attention, as she felt the gazes of her would-be comrades fixed upon her. Only the curly-haired Antonio and the pink-haired girl whose name she did not know were willing to greet her with a hand wave and head nod respectively when her eyes flicked over to them. The rest of the squad, however, was seemingly indifferent with their expressionless faces.

"She has a lead for our investigation," said Alisa. "And I'm sure in due time, she'll be a great asset for your squad. I expect by next week, we'll begin the investigation once Victory is fully repaired and stocked up. "

Sitting with her arms and legs crossed, Eva raised her eyebrow. "Sorry, ma'am. But uh... Why aren't we starting the investigation now?" she asked. "I mean, I have the coordinates where my old base is located. If you can get us the fastest aircraft, we'll be there in and out, gathering all the clues we can... There's no need to wait a week for some... airship..."

"Well, look at you. You're that eager to get started already?" Alisa replied back with a question of her own and a small smile on top of it.

"No, I was just curious..."

"Well then, let me explain, Ms. Eva..." The Colonel cleared her throat before she began justifying the reasoning behind her decision. "The Ashland is a pretty dangerous place, as you well know. And if you're going to be venturing into a hellhole crawling with monsters and god knows what else is out there, then you had best come fully prepared. That's where Victory comes in. It's one of our most powerful assets, packs a hell of a punch and can take some serious beating too. Believe me, you will definitely need it."

Having said that, Alisa made her way down the steps and towards the exit. "And besides, you need to get acquainted with your squad mates. The more you know each other strengths and weaknesses, the more efficient you will be as a team. You have until next week, so make good use of that time. Now, that will be all. You're dismissed. Oh, and Sergeant Amamiya. A word, please..."

Ren looked over to Eva, giving her a head nod before he went after the Colonel, leaving his charge entirely on her own for the first time. The rest of the 1st Unit has also begun to make their way towards the exit, neither of them sparing a second glance for their newest sister-in-arm.

Just as she stood off her seat and thought about heading out like the others, Eva found herself approached by the raven-haired woman. The officer first drew a sigh and then she shook her head. "It's your first day here, and already you've got in a fight... Can't really say I'm impressed..."

Eva had a glance over to the two silver bars insignia sewn onto the fabric of the raven-haired woman's coat. "I was not aware that I had to impress you, Captain?"

"Amanda Lin," The Captain introduced herself promptly. "I'm the second in command of the Corps. That means I'm your supervisor. Of course, you may have to report the big boss every now and again when something very important comes up. But most of the time, you will be answering to me. And right now, we need to get you settled in ASAP..."

Amanda whipped out the tablet device she was holding by her side, her eyes scanning up and down on its screen. "Right then, your first order of the day is a full medical examination at 1200 hours. After that, you will have your combat readiness test at 1500. Then, you're free to go and tour around the Den or retire to your room. But like the Colonel said, I do hope you make good use of your time to get to know your squad mates. You're more or less going to see them every day..."

"Right..." Eva replied.

"Good, then welcome to Wolfhound."

* * *

Fortunately, the rest of her day had gone by smoothly without pressing her knuckles into the flesh of someone or somebody's pressing theirs into hers. The full medical examination that involved a sample of her blood taken and blue ambient light scanning her top to bottom had lasted only a few hours. Then, she went straight for her combat readiness test: an intense simulation battle against various types of Aragami in a background that resembled a ruined city, sweating and grunting as she kept swinging a dummy God Arc blade until she was finally overwhelmed and reality had come back to a dimly-lit spacious chamber.

Before she knew it, darkness has taken over the city of Zion when she stepped outside the complex and felt the cool air against her cheeks. It was the first time in five years that she has tasted freedom. Although she couldn't exactly leave the Den completely without the permission of either Colonel Amiella or Captain Lin, she was at least permitted to walk around the base without having anyone following her closely from behind and watching her every movement at all times.

The nightlife at the Den had been a completely different world than the one she had seen during the daytime. When the blazing sun was still kissing their skin, the majority of personnel had worn the stern professional faces as they kept themselves focused on their work like it was a ritual. With their shifts over for the day, they were finally able to loosen up and be their natural self: conversing with one another with beaming smiles on their faces, clinking their bottles of beer, filling the air with fumes from their cigarettes along with their laughter and cheers.

Even with the end of the world drawing near, people generally couldn't help but resort to their vices such as indulging themselves with alcohol, tobacco or gambling over a card game. For them, it was a coping mechanism to take their mind off from thinking about the grim world they had lived in and the monsters that were prowling near their doorsteps, even for a little while. If not, it was quite likely they'd lost their sanity completely.

"Hey, new gal! Eva! Over here!"

Upon hearing her name being called out, Eva darted her eyes over to her left, where off-duty personnel was seated at rustic picnic benches, drinking icy cold pale lager and eating grilled chicken wings with its sweet, smoky aroma lingering in the air, which made her mouth water. She made a quick survey of the crowd before her gaze stopped at one particular individual seated alone and waving at her.

It'd be hard not to spot this stylishly dressed, cheerful looking young man who wore black trilby hat and black leather jacket complete with a white dress shirt, black tie and blue denim jeans; an unusual fashion that had a mixture of a gentleman and a rebel biker. At first, she didn't recognize who he was until she approached his table, making out his dark brown hair and hazel-green eyes.

"Sorry about what happened earlier," Antonio said after he returned to the table with two plastic plates filled with grilled chicken wings, one meant for him and the other one for Eva. With a snap of his wrist, he cracked open a bottle of pale lager that made a hissing sound before sliding the beer over to her. "Colleen usually doesn't go off like that... It's just been a pretty bad week, you know..."

"If you say so," Eva replied, taking a swig off her bottle.

Truth be told, she didn't know why this Antonio was apologizing and making excuses for one of his fellow comrades' aggressive behavior towards her. If anything, the one who should be expressing remorse for hurting her was the brutish looking woman named Colleen O'Neill, who rammed a fist into her stomach. Even now, the stinging pain on her abdomen hasn't fully subsided. It made a bite every now and again, as a reminder what that brute did to her.

"By the way, I'm Antonio De Rossi," Antonio said as he properly introduced himself. "Despite everything, I'm glad to have you on board. If you need help with anything, you need only to ask."

"Yeah, cheers, I'll keep that in mind," Eva said before she took a bite out of a chicken wing, the charred yet sweet taste hit her tongue and her face involuntarily lit up with delight. It's been such a long while since she was able to enjoy a hot food that was prepared and cooked appropriately.

"So, I heard you were there at Ebonhold. It must have been a pretty nasty business, eh?" Antonio asked, trying to make small talk with his new squadmate.

The memories that popped up in her mind were unpleasant, to say the least: Brick walls and concrete flooring decorated with crimson. Aragami of various monstrous shapes and sizes using their razor sharp teeth or claws to tear apart the flesh of human preys as though it was made of wet noodles. Countless, civilians stranded on the streets begged and screamed for help, but nobody came to their rescue in the end. One vivid image that stood out while escaping the burning city with the two guards who picked her up from the cell, was of a man kneeling down in front of a young boy, probably his son. With tear-stricken face, the father had raised a snub-nosed revolver, pressing its barrel against his son's forehead.

She gave an affirmative nod and taken another swig off her beer as if the alcohol would sweep the bad memory to the back of her mind.

"I just hope we find this Eden Project sooner rather than later," Antonio said. "It's our best chance if we're going to have any future..."

Eva sniffed a laugh. "We hardly know what this Eden Project does or if it even exists anymore... If you ask me, this could just end up being a wild goose chase that amounts to nothing in the end. And it'd be pretty daft to put all your eggs in one basket..."

"Perhaps. But I say we should take that bet."

She lifted her chin, meeting his hazel-green eyes. "So what... You're saying we should just stake everything, roll the dice, crossed our fingers and hope it's going to hit the jackpot?"

The curly-haired man across the table had smiled in response. "Didn't you know, sister? Life's always been a gamble. We've been gambling ever since we came out of our mother's womb. You win some, you lose some. But as long as you have a chip in your hand, it's not over yet."

Eva couldn't tell whether or not this Antonio had a few screws loose in his head, as she studied his smiling face. It seemed strange to her that someone in this dark and bleak world could be very optimistic to locate a vague experiment across a godforsaken land where there was a good possibility it may not be the key to their salvation after all.

Yawning from exhaustion, she finished her beer and stood up. "Well, it's been a long day. I'm turning in for the night. Thanks for the food and beer..."

"Wait."

She stopped in her tracks and turned round to face Antonio.

"Listen, the squad was thinking about going on a mission tomorrow afternoon," he said. "It's just a simple hunting assignment. Captain Lin has already given us the green light. Thought that maybe you wanna stretch your legs too, you know. Since we're going to be squadmates from now on, it'd be nice for you to come along and show us what you can do."

The last line from him had sounded almost like it was a challenge to her. Undoubtedly, she figured her would-be comrades wanted to test her abilities in combat, wondering if she was truly a God Eater that was worthy enough to fight alongside them. And if she had refused to accept this challenge, she'd be seen as a coward.

In all honesty, she couldn't have cared less what her squadmates thought of her. However, she was curious herself whether or not the 1st Unit lived up to the hype that surrounded them.

"Sure, why not," she replied.


End file.
